June 10, 2023
US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Honors Our Pickets at Commencement
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, 7:30 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.
Recap of Yesterday’s Strike Day 3:
The rainy morning didn’t hold us back on the picket lines! We kept the tempo up (dance pickets, anyone?) and brought that energy to our Injury to One is an Injury to All Mass Action. Check out some of the coverage of our ongoing strike on CBS News, King 5, and follow us on social media (@uwrunited & @uaw4121) for more updates.
Mass Action: An Injury to One is an Injury to All
RSEs, Postdocs, and community allies came out in force to the intersection of 15th and Stevens to affirm our commitment to protecting and supporting each and every one of our members. Our power and strength in numbers was a clear response to the myriad of ways UW Admin attempted to isolate and threaten us in the first week of our strike. In particular, UW Admin deliberately targeted one of the most structurally vulnerable of us by singling out international scholars in an attempt to break the strike. But as our mass action today has shown, an injury to one, is an injury to all, and we are resolved to protect each other through visible and meaningful reaffirmations of solidarity.
We are still collecting signatures on our letter condemning UW’s deliberate targeting of international workers, and strongly encourage you to sign on and share this letter widely among your networks.