Was distracted by a few other developments earlier this week, but I'm resharing my yearly reminder to be careful out there because "spring forward" is dangerous and makes little sense.
A must read/listen to interview about what it's like to be an early career researcher in this day and age. Thanks @michaeldgreen.phd for continuing to speak up!
If I could ask Bhattacharya another question, I would ask him how breaking the NIH's contract with our union (that guaranteed fair pay, healthcare, and parental leave) is supposed to support early career researchers, but I know by now I'm unlikely to get an answer.
A couple of weeks afterwards, NIH leadership announced that they would no longer abide by the contract with our union that they agreed to and would no longer recognize our union.
Shortly after his office refused to meet with me, nearly one thousand career researchers across NIH campuses signed onto a letter to Director Bhattacharya and delivered it to his office asking him to meet with our union and address the same healthcare issue I asked him about it.
After a month of emailing his office and showing up in person, they finally told me he was too busy to meet with me.
In response, Bhattacharya offered to meet with me any time to discuss the issue. I tried to take him up on it later that afternoon, but he said to send his office an email to set up a meeting some other time.
I respect the office of NIH Director, so I was politely asked him this issue and how he planned to help Fellows address it.
Great new piece by @melodyschreiber.com in The Guardian about NIH/CDC Director Bhattacharya .
In it, I talk about asking Bhattacharya in January about a recent issue affecting the affordability of healthcare for thousands of early career researchers on the NIH campuses.
Don't panic, Organize! It was great to be able to represent @nihfellowsunited.bsky.social today at the Take Back Our Science Rally in DC to speak out against the attacks on our union and for scientist workers rights!
Thank you!
I will be speaking on behalf of @nihfellowsunited.bsky.social today at the DC @standupforscience.bsky.social National Day of Action. Come hear about the attacks on our union this week and how we're standing up for science and scientist workers!
#march7
#standupforscience
If you block junior scientists from ensuring that they can afford to live (or start families!) in the exorbitantly expensive areas around their workplaces, only family-subsidized solitary rich kids will be able to pursue careers in research - amidst exponential inflation, increasingly few people.
News article clipping: Some NIH Scientists Say Ending Union Recognition Undermines Bhattacharya’s Early-Career Push. By Maaisha Osman / March 5, 2026 at 4:09 PM. The National Institutes of Health is ending recognition of a union representing early-career scientists, a move some agency employees say undermines Director Jay Bhattacharya’s stated goal of supporting researchers beginning their scientific careers. In an email sent Monday (March 2) by NIH’s Office of Human Resources and reviewed by Inside Health Policy, the agency said it will no longer recognize NIH Fellows United, which represents more than 5,000 NIH scientists, about 34% of whom are visiting international fellows. NIH Fellows United, part of the United Auto Workers (UAW Local 2750), represents early-career researchers in the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program, including postbaccalaureate, predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers, as well as clinical, research and visiting fellows. The group organizes thousands of scientists working across NIH labs as part of the agency’s internal research enterprise.
I agree!
Congrats on the successful vote! It's a big win!
Shame on the NIH for stripping fellows of collective bargaining rights!
"The fellows at the NIH deserve the same voice, protections, and dignity on the job that academic workers across the country are fighting for every day."
Read @proftwolf.bsky.social & @rweingarten.bsky.social's statement⬇️
The number of people employed at the NIH is at its lowest level in at least two decades.
Hear from six scientists run out by Trump and the work they left behind on cancer research, tick-borne diseases, and more.
Me + @k-hought.bsky.social @kffhealthnews.org for @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...
But, again, we are no strangers to having to fight for our union. To NIH Fellows, new and old, keep supporting our union. If you're not a member yet, join now. If you're already a member, look out for emails on how you can help. We, the members, are what makes our union strong. 13/n
Now, the NIH seeks to relitigate a settled matter and no longer recognize our union, claiming that "we never should have been certified in the first place." In the words of Douglas Adam's, this is "like a man saying 'And another thing...' twenty minutes after admitting he’d lost the argument." 12/n
Over the past year, we have been enforcing our CBA amidst unprecedented attacks by the new administration. We have sought to work with the NIH amicably, but have been met with animosity. 11/n
The CBA was another historic win that established formal rights and protections for NIH fellows, including provisions on pay, working conditions, grievance procedures, health and safety, and protections against harassment. 10/n
Despite the NIH slow-walking negotiations, we finally reached a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that was finalized and went into effect on December 20th, 2024, exactly one month before the new administration took over. 9/n
After being certified, the NIH Fellows bargaining committee began collective bargaining negotiations with the NIH in May 2024. 8/n
This was a historic win. The NIH Fellows Union became the largest union of federal employees to form in more than a decade, and the first union of Fellows ever at a federal research facility. 7/n
On December 6, 2023, NIH Fellows overwhelmingly voted to form a union by nearly 98%, and the union was officially recognized by the FLRA on December 15th, 2023. 6/n
But, after public pressure, the NIH withdrew its claim, and the FLRA affirmed the union's legal standing. 5/n
The NIH sought to block the unionization process, claiming that early career researchers are trainees and not employees, despite similar cases adjudicated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), FLRA’s sibling agency that oversees the certification of unions by private sector employees. 4/n
On June 1st, 2023, NIH Fellows submitted union authorization cards to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), which oversees the unionization process, including certifying petitions, overseeing elections, and ensuring compliance with the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. 3/n
The NIH Fellows United is part of UAW international (UAW2750) and represents early career researchers in the NIH’s Intramural Research Program (IRP), including postbaccalaureate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral researchers, as well as Clinical Fellows, Research Fellows, and Visiting Fellows. 2/n
