UAW 4121

Membership meeting next Thurs 2/11

Our next membership meeting will be Thursday 2/11 from 5-6pm, and will be conducted via Zoom. More details about how you can join the Zoom meeting will follow in next week’s email and will be posted here. The proposed agenda for the meeting is as follows:
  • Approve Agenda
  • Approve Minutes
  • Postdoc bargaining
  • ASE bargaining 
  • Budget Working Group – Local Budget Proposal
  • Upcoming Events and Actions 
  • Adjourn 
Any member who would like to propose additional agenda items or submit materials for the meeting is welcome to email uaw4121@uaw4121.org by 5pm on Wednesday, February 10. All members in good standing are encouraged to attend, and anyone who is not yet a member can sign up here beforehand.

Climate Justice – Support the HEAL Act

The HEAL Act (SB4151) is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology (EET) Committee on Tuesday, February 9. The HEAL Act works to center those most affected by pollution as Washington transitions to a green economy by integrating environmental justice into state lawmaking as a key part of the Climate Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy’s Resilient Futures Platform. Our local supported previous iterations of the HEAL Act in the past, and 4121 members are encouraged to show your support and take action in advance of the vote on Tuesday. There will be more opportunities to take action in coming weeks as the bill moves into the Ways and Means Committee so stay tuned! For more information or to get involved, contact the Climate Justice Working Group at climatechange@uaw4121.org.

ASE Bargaining Demands & Next Steps

In the past three weeks, 2700 UAW 4121 members, representing 54% of all UW Academic Student Employees, signed on to our initial bargaining demands. Organizers from departments across UW contacted colleagues to make thousands of member-to-member connections through more than 150 hours of phone and textbanking. Along with last quarter’s bargaining survey, this level of engagement and community-building means we’ll be able to collectively begin negotiations later this month with a clear mandate of membership priorities.

As we get closer to bargaining, it’s critical to continue building this momentum. Our ability to make change is a direct function of our ability to rapidly take unified supermajority action, and that begins with a strong membership. 4121 members have been active over the past three years building our communication and leadership networks, and connecting with colleagues to sign up thousands of new ASEs for union membership. In the next few weeks, the ASE Organizing Committee will be doubling down on contacting ASEs who haven’t had the opportunity to sign up for membership. As with all of our collective organizing efforts, this work is strongest when people are connecting with others from their own departments. For more information about how you can get involved helping build our collective power, please emaiuaw4121@uaw4121.org to be connected with an organizer in your area!

All stages of the bargaining process are open to — and depend on — membership participation. To further discuss next steps, please join next week’s membership meeting (refer to the top of this email for more info). At this meeting we will begin discussing more specific proposals  for our wage and compensation proposals, building on the momentum of our initial bargaining demands. As bargaining nears, information about how you can get involved — connecting with others in your department, developing proposals, participating in bargaining sessions, and more! — will also be posted at the ASE Bargaining Center.

Tax Amazon Action Conference – Sat at 10am

This past summer, as part of the Tax Amazon movement our union helped win a tax on big business, generating more than $200 million per year in revenue for social housing and a Green New Deal. However, in the months since Seattle City Council passed this tax, it has been met with corporate backlash, including a recent attempt to seriously decrease the revenue it can generate. Please join the Tax Amazon Action Conference this Saturday, February 6 at 10am PT to help build the power and broad community coalition needed to fight back and defend this critical source of progressive revenue.
For more information check out the Tax Amazon website, and RSVP on Facebook!

Statement of Solidarity with Indian Farmers and Working People 

Our union stands in solidarity with the struggle of farmers and workers in India against the regressive agricultural reforms of the Modi government. Our union’s International Solidarity Workgroup has authored a solidarity statement, which has also been approved unanimously by our union’s Joint Council. We encourage union members to read the solidarity statement and support this important movement.

Upcoming EPIC Trainings

The Empowering Prevention and Inclusive Communities (EPIC) training program is holding a number of training sessions this quarter that all members are encouraged to participate in! The EPIC team is offering both 1.0 and 2.0 trainings via Zoom. In the 1.0 (limited offerings this quarter), you’ll cover skills in bystander intervention, peer allyship, and more, and it is tailored to the needs and interests of each group. The 2.0 training builds on the EPIC 1.0 session to help develop deeper power analyses, discuss strategies for addressing sexual harassment as a structural problem, and make concrete plans for building community and action plans in your department. Please reach out to either Kaelie Giffel (giffel.kaelie@gmail.com) or the EPIC program (epicprogram@uw.edu) if you have any questions or would like to set up a training in your department.

Health & Safety Protections

As the COVID19 pandemic continues and new strains are becoming more common, our work, families, and lives continue to be impacted. In the last year, UAW 4121 members have shown up in force for each other and for our community to take collective action, including by organizing sign-on letters, participating in new working groups, filing grievances, and contributing to solidarity actions and petitions. Both ASE and Postdoc contracts provide that you shall not be required to work in conditions that pose an imminent threat to health and safety (Article 9 of the ASE contract and Article 8 of the Postdoc contract). If you experience any issues or safety concerns — even if you aren’t sure if they are a violation of the contract — please contact the Contract Enforcement Working Group right away for support at contractenforcement@uaw4121.org.

Additionally, you can find out if you’re eligible for a vaccine, or sign up for text/email alerts to notify you when you are eligible, using the Washington Department of Health phase finder.

In Solidarity, 

Douglas Avella-Castro
Leandro Casiraghi
Amanda Clouser
Max Friedfeld
Kaelie Giffel
Vern Harner
Dan Hart
Colleen Hoffman
Amzi Jeffs
Levin Kim
Kyle Kubler
Kristin McCowan
Erin Morgan
Emily Myers
Anzela Niraula
Jacob O’Connor
Elena Pandres
Nayon Park
Marissa Parker
David Parsons
Shua Sanchez
Paige Sechrest
Solmaz Shakerifard
Sam Sumpter
Samantha Thompson
Judy Twedt
Momona Yamagami