October 28, 2022
Mark Your Calendars!
Please mark your calendars for our next general meeting on November 17th at noon! This will be an especially important meeting as we’ll be talking about RSE compensation. Location and RSVP forthcoming.
Bargaining Hiatus till November 28
In case you missed it, we are currently in a six-week hiatus from bargaining due to UW Administration’s lack of availability. While we’ve passed a lot of proposals and have reached tentative agreements on several issues, we still have a lot of work to do. Our remaining scheduled bargaining dates between now and the end of the year are November 28, and December 8, 13, and 15.
We’re determined to be proactive in light of the University’s lack of availability, knowing that the longer it takes to finish negotiations, the longer we will continue to see our merit increases on hold (UW continues to refuse to move on this), and the longer we will go without the rights and protections we need. One way we’re doing this is to propose holding joint bargaining sessions with UW Postdocs who are also bargaining right now, to negotiate demands that apply to both units and create efficiencies in both processes. However the administration agreed to only a single joint session in which we could discuss anti-discrimination measures and the EPIC program. Otherwise they stated that they weren’t currently in favor of scheduling additional joint sessions. While we can’t require them to negotiate with both units jointly, we continued to make the case that bargaining together would be both more efficient and more productive in creating better research
environments—particularly for those who have or will work in both units.
Of note and concern: one of the reasons UW Administration gave for not bargaining with us jointly is that Postdocs have a contract expiration date, while Research Scientists/Engineers’ contract, in the words of a member of the UW Admin bargaining committee, could take “many months” and that there was no clear end in sight. It’s a strong indicator that, without action by us, the UW Administration has no plans to conclude negotiations quickly.
In response, we are making plans for actions we can take to ensure UW continues to bargain in good faith and swiftly, so that we reach agreement as soon as possible. Throughout this bargaining process, you will be able to find the full exchange of proposals at our Bargaining Center. Bargaining will resume on November 28. RSVP to join the caucus here.
General Meeting Recap
At our October general meeting, bargaining committee members shared several important updates about bargaining progress and the challenges we’ve faced and are facing. Our guest from the UW Libraries Union, Conor Casey, spoke with us about their recent one-day strike and how their members organized to make it a success.
UW Libraries Professional Staff, Librarians, and Press Staff have been bargaining with UW Admin for over a year now. As you may have seen, they held a one-day strike on October 13th in response to UW admin’s delay tactics. There was resounding support from across the country. It is important that we work together to maintain this momentum. We’re excited by the prospect of organizing with UW Libraries workers in the future, as we fight for our contracts.
If you’d like to become more involved, there are both small and large ways to contribute. Please email contact@uwresearchersunited.
In solidarity,
UWRU/UAW Bargaining Committee
Thaddeus Armstrong
Leila Blair
Nick Bolten
Jai Broome
Erin Carll
Shelly Carpenter
Bonnie Chang
Morgan Crotta
Iván Cruz
Abby Gambrill
Jay Mas Gilvydis
Anya Kalata
Julia Kobelt
Katherine Lasdin
Ellen MacLachlan
Deborah Nemens
Katie Osterhage
Van Redila
Annelise Smith
Galen Stewart
Kambiz Tavabi
Jacob Tietsort
Stacey Wedlake
Ryan Will
Tricia Wu
Joshua Yee