Emilya Ventriglia

Stories

Federal labor board rejects NIH bid to strip its fellows' union

Leading the union after the October 2026 FLRA ruling

Roughly 5,000 postdocs, graduate students and postbaccalaureate researchers work in NIH's own labs on term-limited appointments. In December 2023 they voted 97.8% to unionize, and in December 2024 they ratified a contract covering pay, leave and harassment protections. On March 2, 2026, NIH told the union it should 'never have been certified' and asked a federal labor board to remove the fellows from the bargaining unit.

Updated 2 hours ago