Thursday’s Board of Regents Meeting
Shoutout to the many of you who showed up for the UW Board of Regents Meeting Thursday! We overflowed their meeting room.
We offered a 10-minute panel to the UW Board of Regents in which we made sure they are aware:
- That UW has been breaking the law
- Of the status of bargaining for both Research Scientists and Postdocs and that in the case of both units, for all outstanding issues, all we are seeking is what others are getting (market compensation and what is status quo in other UW bargaining units)
- And finally, that we’re eager to reach a agreement with UW on fair contracts but are preparing to take direct action if necessary to reach agreement.
Below are some choice quotes that our colleagues shared during the panel:
“We are extremely frustrated with what appears to be a policy directive from this university administration to resort to rule bending or rule breaking rather than collaborate to build a stronger, more equitable and more fiscally sustainable university.”
-Charles Ian O’Leary, Research Scientist, Department of Biological Structure.
“No one in my department can afford stable housing on our wage from the university. For single employees it is impossible to rent an apartment close to our labs and office in south lake union. Personally I would not be able to afford rent anywhere in the city if it weren’t for my partner’s income – even then, I live paycheck to paycheck and have no savings.”
-Nora Molasky, Research Scientist with Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CERID)
“Due to the unnecessary delays, bad faith bargaining, and unwillingness to agree to terms that are common in our industry, we, as a collective, are being forced to seriously consider taking direct action if we cannot reach agreement on fair contracts soon.”
-Andrew Brown, Postdoctoral Scholar in Philosophy, with the Neuroethics group
“UW has a golden opportunity here to proactively come to the table with competitive wages and demonstrate that UW sets science and engineering as a priority. We would like to get back to focusing on our work and doing what makes UW a world renowned research institution. You have the power as members of this board to avoid disruption, by helping us finalize agreements that are fair, inclusive, and consistent with the law in our state.” -Beth Martin, Research Scientist with Genome Sciences.
What’s Next and What YOU Can Do!
If you haven’t already done so, please reach out to the faculty you work with and make sure they are aware of what is happening in Research Scientist and Postdoc bargaining (form email 1) (form email 2). Please make sure that they know that we need their help to prevent the need for a work stoppage.
Our next Mass Action is on May 25th at noon. RSVP here and make sure your colleagues are planning to be there as well. We will be making noise and collectively deciding on our next escalatory steps, including the option of striking. Please prioritize attending.
Bargaining
- We have two remaining bargaining sessions scheduled next week on the 16th and the 18th. If you’d like to attend, please email contact@uwresearchersunited.
org. - You can see information about the 44 articles/MOUs we’ve reached agreement on and what we have already tentatively won here.
- You can see an overview of the articles that we are negotiating here.
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