California Institute of Technology

serving on committees.
Founded in 1930s, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) owned by NASA and operated as a division of Caltech through a contract between NASA and Caltech. In 2008, JPL spent over $1.6 billion on research and development and employed over 5,000 project-related and support employees. The JPL Director also serves as a Caltech Vice President and is responsible to the President of the Institute for the management of the laboratory.
In December 2023, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers filed to be recognized for collective bargaining as Caltech Grad researchers and Postdocs United, in affiliation with the United Auto Workers (C/GPU-UAW). On January 31 and February 1, 2024, a vote was held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In February 2024, the NLRB certified that 1335 of 1997 eligible workers voted, with 78% voting in favor of unionization. In May 2024, contract negotiations began. In December 2024, C/GPU-UAW members …