Black History Month // TUGSA Solidarity // Upcoming International Solidarity Working Group Events // & More!

Feb 16, 2023 | Membership Updates

Black History Month

Check out this list of resources and current initiatives that the UW Black Student Union (BSU) compiled on this linktr.ee. BSU has a “Black Is” series every Wednesday of this month at 6pm at the Ethnic Cultural Center. If you are a Black graduate student at UW, you are also encouraged to reach out to bgsa@uw.edu to get connected with the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA). BGSA has a speaker series every Friday of this month from 12-1pm with lunch provided; you can register here.

Solidarity with Striking Temple University Grad Students

Square with white background with two photos in the center; overlaid on photos, text: "TUGSA X UAW 4121 Solidarity organizing shift Wed, Feb 15th, 10am @ Red Square." On the bottom right, TUGSA and UAW 4121 logos next to each other. Beige square with overlaid text drawn from the HELU TUGSA solidarity statement -- "Ultimately, TUGSA's fight...To make our public institutions work by and for the people."
A group of people standing in UW's Red Square with fists raised.
Yesterday, members across units joined together to send solidarity to striking graduate student workers at Temple University. Following a year of unsuccessful contract negotiations, graduate student workers at Temple University went on strike at the beginning of February. Temple University has since retaliated against the striking grad workers in unprecedented ways, including retroactively canceling grad students’ tuition remission and healthcare. Higher ed workers across the country have been calling out Temple University admin for their callous retaliation and coordinating actions to support the striking Temple University workers.

Solidarity with Turkish and Syrian students and communities

We are devastated by the news of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday morning in south central Turkey that has killed more than 4,000 people in Turkey and Syria, which is expected to rise in the coming days. The UAW 4121 International Solidarity Working Group stands with all affected by this tragic event. If you and/or other ASEs, Postdocs, or Research Scientists you know are in need of support around this issue, including information and support around navigating leaves and time off guaranteed in our contract, resources around asking for support, getting connected to other international students and scholars, and more, please reach out to international-solidarity@uaw4121.org. Additionally, here are some resources provided by the University:
  • The Counseling Center (206-543-1240) provides personal counseling, assessment, referral and crisis intervention services to currently-enrolled students.
  • LiveWell (206-543-2684) provides support and case consultation for students experiencing personal hardship, including academic hardship as the result of extenuating life circumstances.
  • Student Financial Aid: If these events have put an unexpected burden on you financially, please visit with staff in the Office of Student Financial Aid to explore emergency aid options.
  • CIRCLE (the Center for International Relations & Cultural Leadership Exchange) (206-685-4004) streamlines critical support for UW international students, including Student Success and Wellbeing coaching.
We would also like to provide a few organizations that are coordinating aid to victims in Turkey and Syria:
  • AKUT: an “entirely a voluntary, non-governmental organization involved in searching, assisting and rescuing all who require aid within its authority and means”
  • Doctors Without Borders: “have received many injured and dead people in the hospitals we support in northwest Syria”
  • Ahbap: “Ahbap is the leading non-governmental volunteer organization consisted of philanthropists, aiming to provide any form of help to people in need”

To get involved in ongoing community building and organizing around issues impacting our international students and scholars, please get in touch with our International Solidarity Working Group at international-solidarity@uaw4121.org. Weekly meetings this quarter are on Mondays from 3pm – 4pm over Zoom.

Upcoming International Solidarity Working Group Events

Join the UAW 4121 International Solidarity Working Group (ISWG) at upcoming events — RSVP here for:
  • ISWG Organizing Basics workshop — Monday, 2/27 from 3pm – 4pm over Zoom:
    This workshop is geared towards all international students and scholars interested in learning more about & discussing ways to build community and power together. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring experiences, ideas, and questions!
  • ISWG Bargaining 101 — Spring Quarter, date TBD:
    More information to come soon!

ISWG meets weekly over Zoom on Mondays from 3pm – 4pm. Reach out to intl-workgroup@uaw4121.org to get connected!

ASEs: Apply to be an EPIC Training Specialist!

Empowering Prevention and Inclusive Communities (EPIC) is hiring for an Academic Student Employee Training Specialist! The position is 50% FTE, approximately 20 hours per week, for the Spring quarter (with the possibility of extension). Apply on UW Hires (UW Requisition #218561) before the posting closes on February 26th!

February Membership Meeting Recap: 2023 Budget Priorities

At February’s monthly membership meeting last week, the Budget Working Group presented initial priorities for the 2023 budget proposal, which will be emailed to members ahead of the March monthly membership meeting, where it will be presented and discussed.The priorities developed by the Budget Working Group are centered around our vision and goals, and what resources we require to enact them, growing membership engagement and worker power. These priorities are: internal organizing & membership engagement, external organizing, solidarity & coalition-building, infrastructure & non-discretionary spending.

Please reach out to the Budget Working Group (budget@uaw4121.org) with your suggestions or questions for the budget priorities, or to get more involved with the budget process

UAW Runoff Elections

As a reminder, runoff elections have begun for the offices of UAW International President and Vice President. The deadline for ballot returns will be February 28, 2023. If you have not received your ballot, you should request a replacement right away at uawvote.com or by calling 855-433-8683.Find more information about the election process, eligibility to vote, and more on the IEB Elections page on our website and on the Federal Monitor’s Elections page. As with the first round of voting, our Organizing Committees will be conducting a number of Get Out the Vote efforts to reach out to fellow UAW 4121 members and encourage everyone to participate in the runoff election. To get involved with this work, email ase-organizing@uaw4121.org.

In Solidarity,
Justin Applegate
Lucia Baker
Ana Bennett
Rebecca Bluett
Nick Bolten
Francesca Colonnese
Pat Erickson
Max Friedfeld
Colleen Hoffman
Soohyung Hur
Levin Kim
Brianne King
Avi Matarasso
Nicel Mohamed-Hinds
Anzela Niraula
Marissa Parker
Mara Rafferty
Tahiyat Rahman
Anastasia Schaadhardt
Audrey Seo
Jer Steeger
Samantha Thompson
Natalie Wellen
Tricia Wu
Yuying Xie