May 10, 2022
UW Slow Rolls its Case to PERC
Last week, Washington’s Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) conducted three days of hearings to provide the University Administration an opportunity to formally make their case that nearly 230 RSEs (out of a total of ~1,500) should be excluded from our bargaining unit. We heard general testimony from members of the Administration (VP for Human Resources, Director of Compensation, and Senior Vice Provost for Research Administration, among others) about how decision-making authority is structured at the University, but only presented testimony pertaining to one specific example of an RSE being challenged as a Manager/Supervisor.
Most of the remaining time was spent discussing one unit of the University: the Applied Physics Lab, which UW is claiming should be excluded in its entirety due to several “community of interest” factors (including that it is funded by the Department of Defense, that RSEs work in locations with key card entry, and that some RSEs might have access to restricted information). We were frustrated that these already thin arguments were not substantiated with a single specific example. PERC is obligated to allow the University to present its entire case and has now scheduled three additional hearing days on May 26, June 2 and 3.
These hearings are public, and many thanks to those UW Researchers who showed up to watch the proceedings. We encourage as many researchers as possible to attend the upcoming hearings: contact uwresearchersunited@
Voting Soon!
Because the hearing process is incredibly drawn out, PERC is also finalizing the details of a representation vote. This process will allow our union to get certified separately from the process of resolving UW’s never-ending challenges:
WHEN: Targeting mid-to-late May
WHERE: Most likely electronic, over email
WHO: All RSE A-4
NOTE: Individuals whose membership in our bargaining unit is still challenged by UW will have a separate process for voting, but we remain committed to ensuring every Researcher’s voice is heard and every RSE A-4’s vote counts.
In the meantime, please fill out a commitment to Vote Yes and help build momentum for a swift certification so we can begin bargaining! Also be sure to check out this excerpt from our Town Hall in April, where Tricia lays out many of the reasons to get to the bargaining table “like yesterday” as she says. Watch now.
Thank you for your support! As always, all updates will be posted on the website. Reply to this email if you want to get more involved in forming our union or have any questions.
Thaddeus Armstrong
Jai Broome
Iván Cruz
Kellie Dunn
Abby Gambrill
Maddie Jones
Julia Kobelt
Cara Margherio
Daniel Pfalmer
Meredith Rawls
Sam Richardson
Tricia Wu