It's not news that higher education is staffing its academic and research endeavors on the backs of a growing corps of contingent workers. But one group we hear little about is postdoctoral fellows. These are academic workers who, to advance their careers-and oftentimes in lieu of tenure-track job offers-jump onto research projects where they can trade their diligence and lab or research skills for pay a step above the stipends they received in grad school and little in the way of benefits. And in a tough job market, they can find themselves lingering in limbo for much longer than they intended.

One reason we don't hear from postdocs is that not many are organized into unions.  But today, we celebrate the fact that Rutgers University postdocs have spoken. Exercising their right under New Jersey's card check law, a majority of the 350 postdoctoral fellows working at Rugters University signed cards indicating their desire to be represented by a union. Today, the NJ Public Employment Relations Commission certified them. They will be represented by the Rutgers Council of AAUP-AFT chapters, which also represents grad employees and faculty at the university.

Read the press release here.

The new Rutgers union brings to three the number of postdoc unions nationwide.  The first postdoc union to form, the United Health Professionals at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn. voted to affiliate with the AFT in 2004.  In their first contract, they were able to secure paid leave, paid sick leave, daycare scholarships, state employee health and pension benefits, and wage increases worth a 27 percent increase in the minimum postdoc salary in their first contract. They also got something invaluable-a raised voice in the university and statehouse.

Let's hope our friends at Rutgers will rapidly assume the same.