April 15, 2022
“UW researchers are struggling with childcare, affordable housing, safe and affordable commutes to work, job security, flexibility for remote work, visa issues, bullying and toxic environments, gender wage equity, racial equity, workload and doing stuff outside our job descriptions, how to get promotions, just to name a few. And there are new issues looming in the future that we must address—we’ve got an increase in overtime exemption wage minimum and how that will be implemented at UW, the inflation rate, climate change… The point is, we need to get to the bargaining table YESTERDAY.” Tricia Wu, RSE-2 Biological Structure
It was empowering to see so many individuals attend last week’s Town Hall! We heard:
- Stories from two RSEs who have struggled to remove their names from the list of people UW Admin wants to exclude from our bargaining unit;
- An example from an RSE who had to fight an unjustified denial of his promotion (as a result of UW incorrectly applying the dynamic status quo standard);
- Messages of support from other UW employees: Postdocs, Student Employees, Library Workers, Residents and Physicians—all of whom have unionized and faced similar delays.
We also discussed a new proposal: to stop waiting for certification via card check confirmation of our majority status (which UW has shown it can effectively halt by adding more challenges) and instead take the step of holding a vote to certify our union. With hundreds in attendance, RSEs from across the unit committed to take action to make a vote a success!
With all of this considered, we have asked PERC (the Public Employment Relations Commission) to order a representation vote in lieu of certification by card check. While this shouldn’t have been necessary given our majority showing of support, an election appears to be the quicker route to prevent any further delays in reaching certification and being able to bargain.
We are holding a planning meeting for next steps on Tuesday, April 19th, 4-6pm. There will be an in-person meeting in HSB, an in-person meeting at SLU, and a Zoom meeting. Please RSVP here: https://form.jotform.com/
In solidarity,
Jai Broome
Iván Cruz
Kellie Dunn
Abby Gambrill
Julia Kobelt
Cara Margherio
Meredith Rawls
Tricia Wu