About 700 postdoctoral researchers and graduate workers at UMass Chan Medical School plan to rally on campus Friday afternoon, saying contract negotiations with school management have hit an impasse. The workers are pushing for higher wages and benefits, along with a set of workplace protections they say remain unresolved after months of bargaining.
The rally is set for Friday afternoon, Nov. 13, at Belmont and Plantation streets, according to The Gardner News. The workers are organized as the Coalition of Research Employees at UMass Chan, which filed to form in March 2025 and is affiliated with the United Auto Workers; the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations certified the coalition the following month, in April 2025.
Kylie Arnold, a graduate worker in UMass Chan's immunology and microbiology program, said the outstanding issues include enforceable and timely remedies for discrimination, harassment and bullying, along with support for international researchers. She also said the union wants all graduate workers included in the bargaining unit, plus wages and benefits that keep pace with the cost of living.
What UMass Chan Says It Wants
UMass Chan has said it wants to reach a deal that recognizes the contributions of the research and graduate worker groups while addressing financial challenges facing higher education and the medical school. The school added that it remains committed to good-faith negotiations and to reaching agreements that are equitable and sustainable for both its employees and the university.
Bargaining records posted by the UMass Chan Researchers Union - UAW show both sides have made some progress even as other issues linger. At the union's fifth graduate-worker session, the two sides reached an agreement on academic-freedom protections for student workers, the union reported. But by the seventh session on Jan. 16, 2026, the union said it and the university remained apart on intellectual-property rights, with the union's proposal calling for broader IP protections than the university was willing to offer under its existing policy.
Grievance Process and Workload Fights
At an eighth postdoc bargaining session on Jan. 22, 2026, the union bargaining committee said it presented counterproposals covering workload, discrimination and harassment, and sick time. Earlier postdoc sessions had focused on a counterproposal regarding the grievance and arbitration process, according to the union's own bargaining updates.
Under Massachusetts law, when negotiations over a public-sector collective bargaining agreement stall, either side — or both jointly — may petition the state labor relations board for a formal determination of whether an impasse exists, per Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 150E, Section 9.
Part of a Broader UMass Labor Moment
Friday's planned rally follows a string of labor actions across the UMass system this academic year. In October, unions at UMass Amherst rallied outside the student union for higher wages as part of a larger statewide campaign for public higher-education staff, according to wgbh.org. The University Staff Association involved in that campaign represents 800 employees at UMass Amherst, per steward Tasha Thompson, and organizers said the unions planned to take their action to the statehouse the following month.
A separate contract dispute involving the Professional Staff Union, which represents 2,400 employees across the Amherst and Boston campuses, has also drawn state involvement. That union's contract expired in July 2024, and the state Department of Labor Relations director advised both the university and the union to continue bargaining before moving to mediation, according to recorder.com. That case involves different employees and a separate bargaining process than the one at UMass Chan.
