June 10, 2023

US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Honors Our Pickets
Secretary Cardona, who had been slotted as the keynote speaker at today’s Commencement, honored our picket lines and canceled his speech. President Biden’s administration maintains a policy that US Cabinet-level officials will not cross picket lines while on official business, Cardona made a statement in the Seattle Times covered the story here.  We picketed and celebrated with graduates and their families – receiving amazing support from them – but in continuing a visible presence of our work stoppage, reminded attendees that the UW Administration is accountable.  Check out photos here!

Sign up for Next Week’s Shifts!
Our picket lines are the lifeblood of our campaign, and create visibility that pressure the Administration. Continued participation is essential – if you haven’t already, please sign up now! 

*Please note that the picket shifts schedule have changed to 6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and are four hours long.*

Agenda for Monday June 12th

  • Action Plan, 12:00 noon: For Monday’s action we will convene outside of the Health Sciences Building at 12:00 p.m.  Picketers should plan to meet in the Courtyard between Foege Hall and HSB [map].  Spread the word!
  • Mass Meeting, 7:3 p.m: We will hold another mass meeting Monday night to check in on the day’s bargaining, discuss the trajectory of the campaign, consider additional direct actions and collectively decide next steps. RSVP here.

Bargaining
Yesterday evening, we reiterated to management that our team was available to bargain that evening or this morning. They replied that their negotiating team was not available until Monday. Additional bargaining dates are scheduled Monday (Postdocs) and Tuesday (RSEs).

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to contact@uwresearchersunited.org.

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