Taking Action for Racial Justice
This past Sunday, UAW 4121 members joined thousands for a march in South Seattle against state-sanctioned violence and police brutality.
Over the past week, UAW 4121 members have continued joining our larger communities in the fight for racial justice, through actions like marches, public meetings, and petitions. Our Anti-Discrimination Working Group is joining others in our community to organize around a number of critical anti-racist projects, both on and off campus — including work to push for the removal of the Seattle police union from the King County Labor Council; to restructure UW and city budgets so they prioritize sorely-needed social programs and not, as they do now, militarized police departments charged with violently enforcing racist policies and institutions; and more.
At tomorrow’s membership meeting, we will hold additional discussion on the role we can play as a union in the fight for long-lasting racial justice, and will then hold an important vote on the removal of the Seattle police union from the MLK Labor Council. All members are encouraged to join, and you can find more information about the meeting below.
Further, members are welcome to participate in this work on an ongoing basis — email anti-discrimination@uaw4121.org with a non-UW email to be added to the listserv and join our next meeting!
As a union, we have endorsed the following petitions — please take a minute to add your name too!
Upcoming events
For more information about upcoming opportunities to take action, educational resources, and more, check out this page on our website.
Membership meeting tomorrow
As a reminder, our next membership meeting will be tomorrow, Thursday 6/11 from 5-6pm, and will be conducted via Zoom. All members in good standing are encouraged to attend, and anyone who is not yet a member can sign up here beforehand. If you can, please join the Zoom meeting 5-10 minutes before 5pm to help expedite the check-in process. The proposed agenda for the meeting is as follows:
- Approve Agenda
- Approve Minutes
- Organizing Against Racist & Anti-Black Policing
- Discussion and vote on removal of Seattle police union from King County Labor Council
- Anti-Discrimination Working Group update
- Working Group Updates
- Adjourn
There are two ways you can join the Zoom meeting: either by using the app/web browser for voice and video, or by calling in for voice only. To access the link and call-in number, please fill out this short form. For more information about how the meeting will be structured and how you can use Zoom’s features to participate, check out this post on our website. If you have any specific concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out at uaw4121@uaw4121.org.
International Solidarity Work Group
Our International Solidarity Work Group is working at the university, state, and federal level to urge members of Congress to preserve OPT and other higher education visas, and have already gained the expressed support of nearly every Washington representative. In coordination with our legislative efforts, we are developing public messaging about the urgency of protecting OPT. In addition, we are helping other international colleagues at UW to immediately obtain appointment extensions, and have found helpful solutions for several members.
The work group will continue meeting every Monday at 9am until the start of Summer Quarter. Please reach out to us at intl-workgroup@uaw4121.org if you’re interested in getting involved, have questions, or are having problems with your appointment!
Organizing training
The last of our Spring organizing training series is tomorrow! Join fellow 4121 members across UW to learn more about what we can each do to help build our collective power for structural change. Learn more about the session and RSVP here.
Session 3: Power Analysis, Thursday, 6/11, 12-1:30. This session explores the nature and sources of our power as a union, and how we can leverage that power in order to push for change. This session is intended for people who have at least some previous experience with 1-to-1 organizing.
Tax Amazon
Last week we gathered over 8,000 signatures on the Tax Amazon ballot initiative petition! People are showing a lot of enthusiasm and support for this initiative, and almost everyone signs the petition right away. After testing different methods for gathering signatures, it is clear that social distanced tabling and clipboarding are by far the most effective. This week we are expanding the effort to include weekday evenings, as well as weekend days. We need 30,000 physical signatures by July 2nd, so there’s still a lot of work to do. If we all pitch in, we can meet this goal!
How you can help: As in previous weeks, please join the volunteer hub closest to your home. Wear a mask and gloves if you have them. If not, they will be provided at the delivery location. You can choose whether to table or clipboard – whichever is most comfortable for you. Get full details and RSVP here!
In solidarity,
Douglas Avella-Castro
Leandro Casiraghi
Amanda Clouser
Monica Cortés Viharo
Meg Drouhard
Max Friedfeld
Vern Harner
Dan Hart
Amzi Jeffs
Sam Kastner
Kyle Kubler
Kristin McCowan
Emily Myers
Anzela Niraula
Jacob O’Connor
Elena Pandres
Nayon Park
Marissa Parker
David Parsons
Shua Sanchez
Paige Sechrest
Solmaz Shakerifard
Sam Sumpter
Judy Twedt
Jon Witt |
