May 5, 2023
After our bargaining session today, we are still making progress at the bargaining table, but at this point UW Admin has refused to agree to proposals that we’ve identified as priorities, including livable and competitive wages, financial support for childcare, access to peer-led equity training, and overtime policies that make sense for the work we do. While we have made progress on important issues, we know that these outstanding priorities will be difficult to win, and we know that historically, nothing is won without significant mobilization and preparation. Many of our RSE colleagues are preparing to win a fair contract by doing the following:
What’s Next and What You Can Do!
We need participation from each and every RSE in order to win a fair contract. Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend the following:
- UW Board of Regents Public Comment period on 5/11, 11:15am (*please note, this is a changed time from what had been shared previously*)
- May Mass Meeting, 5/25, noon, on main campus, location to be announced. At our next Mass Meeting, we will be discussing and collectively deciding our next steps including the option of striking. Please prioritize joining for this very important meeting!
RSEs and Postdocs are having conversations with PIs and the chairs of our department to make sure they are informed about what is happening in bargaining. We are presenting a letter with a majority of support and sign-on describing the issues we are trying to address. We are also letting department chairs know that we are making preparations to withhold our labor if this is what is determined to be necessary to win fair contracts. 1) please be sure to sign on to the chair letter, and 2) if you would like to present the letter to your department chair, please reach out so we can coordinate. 3) Email this form letter to the faculty you work with to make sure they are aware of what is happening in our contract negotiations. After you send the email, please complete this form to help track on which faculty have received information.
Lastly, these are ways you can help prepare for a strike, should we make the decision to do so:
Sign up to be a strike captain. This simply means that you would commit to talking with the RSEs and PDs in your lab/center/area and helping with strike logistics (shifts, signs, picket lines). The bargaining committee is providing the training.
If you are able, donate to our strike fund or share this link with your network. In the event of a strike, this fund will be used to supplement the strike support that RSEs would receive from the UAW strike fund.
Share this Pledge to Not Cross the Picket Line with other UW community members including ASEs, staff, and other community supporters
Today’s Bargaining Session
Here’s a quick recap of what happened in our bargaining session today:
- We reached tentative agreement on a side letter regarding Visa Sponsorship.
- Management’s latest compensation proposal consisted of an incremental increase to across-the-board annual raises. Their numbers are now 4%-3%-2.5%. They also increased their range adjustment for RSE-A, 1, and 2 positions from 2.5 to 3%.
- UW has stated they believe the salary study they have commissioned and paid for–for over a decade–to be incorrect and not applicable to research scientists. Given this, we elected to provide research staff in the University of California system as a different comparable. Using this framework, and as a means of showing movement, we moved our range adjustments to 25-25-20-12.5-7.5% for RSE-A, 1, 2, 3, and 4s, respectively.
- Management again struck the entirety of our childcare proposal as well as our proposal giving RSEs access to the peer-led, evidence-based, anti-harassment program, EPIC.
In terms of the larger picture, here’s where we are at in the bargaining process:
- We’ve now had 29 bargaining sessions since August of 2022. You can see information about the 45 articles/MOUs we’ve reached agreement on and what we have already tentatively won here.
- You can see an overview of the remaining articles that we are negotiating here (table updates coming soon).
- We currently have 2 more bargaining sessions scheduled this month, May 16th and 18th. If you would like to attend, please email contact@uwresearchersunited.
org.
Upcoming UAW Local 4121 Events
Saturday, 5/6 – Sunday, 5/7: UAW Region 6 Social Justice Conference – “An Injury to One Is an Injury to All”
Mary Gates Hall
The UAW Region 6 conference on issues of social justice, “An Injury to One Is an Injury to All” will take place this weekend, May 6-7 at UW! The conference is open to all RSEs: register and find more information here! This is a critical opportunity to collaborate and strategize between RSEs, Postdocs, and ASEs as the contract campaigns and escalations continue. Please RSVP today, and since the conference starts tomorrow, if you register, please email solidarity@uaw4121.org.
Solidarity and Political Actions
The Rally to Defend the Right to Strike being organized by Workers Strike Back is taking place from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Saturday, May 6 (tomorrow) in front of the Federal Courthouse (700 Stewart St.). More information here, and reach out to solidarity@uaw4121.org with questions and information on getting involved in organizing around this issue.
Stay Informed
Stay up to date with our latest news and actions by following our social media accounts: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and also, reach out if you have any questions.
Additionally, if you’d like to keep up with what’s happening more broadly than just our Research Scientist unit, check out the UAW 4121 email updates. Also we are part of UAW Region 6, which represents over 100,000 people across 9 states.
In solidarity,
UWRU/UAW Bargaining Committee
Thaddeus Armstrong
Nick Bolten
Jai Broome
Erin Carll
Morgan Crotta
Iván Cruz
Abby Gambrill
Jay Mas Gilvydis
Anya Kalata
Julia Kobelt
Katherine Lasdin
Ellen MacLachlan
Katie Osterhage
Deborah Nemens
Van Redila
Annelise Smith
Galen Stewart
Jacob Tietsort
Stacey Wedlake
Ryan Will
Tricia Wu