The ratification vote on our Tentative Agreement (TA) closes TOMORROW at 7pm.

This Tentative Agreement (TA) that is being presented to membership for ratification is a direct result of thousands of members coming together to build power and organizing capacity in unprecedented numbers over the last 3 years. Our ASE Bargaining Team has endorsed voting YES to ratifying this contract to secure the concrete gains in this contract and immediately enact plans to win even more during our next round of contract negotiations. 

One of the highlights in the TA is a new article on Immigration with reappointment rights and paid leave for immigration-related appointments, which were the top priorities for concrete non-citizen ASE support that members indicated throughout the contract campaign. While this is clearly not enough to address the structural inequities that non-citizen ASEs must navigate on a daily basis, this new article sets a solid foundation with concrete tools to start rebalancing the extreme power imbalance between non-citizen ASEs and the institutions that regulate immigrants’ lives.

Our ASE Bargaining Team endorsed voting Yes as a commitment to build together on the gains in this contract to win more by developing our collective capacity by organizing new workers, winning ambitious department and issue-based campaigns, strengthening our networks of solidarity and communication with each other, and more. As always, our collective power is dependent on every single one of us building our union together. Please be on the lookout for additional information on getting involved in department campaigns, workgroups, and more in tomorrow’s email! 

Voting is open to all ASE members–find the link to vote here if you haven’t received it in your inbox.

Please also be aware of these other resources:

• Information Sessions
• Bargaining Team Office Hour Sessions
• FAQ on Ratification 
• Statements on Ratification (Bargaining Team & Members) 
• Tentative Agreement Highlights 
• Additional Tentative Agreement Summaries:
  • Employer’s Initial Proposals vs. Tentative Agreement Comparison Grid 
  • Projected wages by department 

The ratification vote on our Tentative Agreement (TA) is open now until Friday at 7pm. Voting is open to all ASE members–find the link here if you haven’t received it in your inbox.

Our ASE bargaining team voted 12-1 to make this TA and to recommend that members vote Yes to ratify it. This agreement is the product of months of organizing by ASEs—those on the Bargaining Team, yes, but even more so, the rank-and-file department organizers who have spent this year tirelessly building our membership from a low point at the beginning of the academic year to the strong majority it is now, executing a series of powerful direct actions, and working toward strike readiness.

The raises we have all won together in this TA are the best UW ASEs have ever won—and at the same time, they still fall short of what we deserve. A contract is never everything we need. The basis of a decision to ratify, and the reason our bargaining team recommends a Yes vote now, is an assessment of power. We believe this TA reflects the peak of our power, or the best possible contract we could win at the moment when we had the most leverage to extract concessions from the employer, at the moment when the threat of further disruption was at its greatest earlier this week.

Each bargaining team member has written a detailed statement explaining their vote on the TA and their recommendation now: read them here. Additionally, members are encouraged to submit their statements here to be shared, which will be updated regularly. 

Each member must make their own decision about whether to ratify this contract. A Yes vote is not an indication of complacency; it reflects a belief that this TA is the best we can win in this moment and a commitment to build from this platform to win more in the future, not just in our next negotiations, but through contract enforcement and departmental campaigns. A No vote on its own is not enough to win more; it must be a decision about a strategy to win more in this moment and in these conditions. 

Vote Yes on this TA now to secure our wins and build onward to more.

After more than three months of negotiations, ASEs have secured a strong Tentative Agreement (TA) that we are now voting to ratify. This TA contains the highest raises ASEs at UW have ever won—though not everything that we deserve, these raises will put hundreds more dollars back into ASEs’ pockets every month, and will mark a major improvement to ourliving conditions.

Here’s a picture of base wages over the life of this contract (12%/10%/10%): 

In addition to these raises to base-rate ASE salaries, this contract includes guaranteed raises of 3%/2%/2% for variable-rate departments (above base-rate), who had no guaranteed raises in our last contract, as well as 8%/5%5% for hourly ASEs. 

These raises were hard-fought in a city with average rents ranging from $1500-$2000/month for studio and one-bedroom apartments. Addressing the cost of living crisis was a major concern for ASEs and a major goal in negotiations. This contract makes real progress toward addressing the fact that far too many ASEs are rent-burdened, live paycheck to paycheck, and struggle to buy groceries and make ends meet. 

These raises also ensure that UW keeps up with peer institutions. The University of Washington has fallen far behind peer public sector universities in recent years–but with this contract, ASEs have stopped that slide backward.

The decision to ratify the contract is fundamentally a question about strategies to build our collective power. Tomorrow, you’ll receive an email with multiple perspectives on ratification – you can submit your own statement here. 

Check our more resources as you make a decision about how to vote:

• RSVP for information sessions and office hours
• Ratification Vote FAQ
• Form to submit ratification vote statements for dissemination to membership
• Tentative Agreement Summary
• Bargaining Team Statements (coming soon)
• What this contract means for each department, both variable and base (coming soon)

As of noon today, the ratification vote on the Tentative Agreement is open to all ASE union members, and closes at 7pm on Friday. 

Our ASE bargaining team is recommending a YES vote on this Tentative Agreement. Our unit has fought hard over years to build power and win the best possible contract at the moment when we had the most power to do so – the moment when the threat of future disruption was highest.

This contract contains the highest raises ASEs at UW have ever won: 12%-10%-10% raises to the base salary each year for a cumulative raise of 36% over three years, and guaranteed raises for variable (3%/2%/2%) and hourly (8%/5%/5%) employees. 

We made major equity wins: our first-ever Reasonable Accommodations article, with an enforceable right to accommodations, an interactive process, and interim measures for immediate relief if an ASE files a grievance over accommodations. We also won our first-ever Immigration article, with paid immigration leaves and reappointment rights language.

In this contract, ASEs have also won summer UPASS; doubled our eye exam coverage; and even won a longer timeline to file grievances over violations of our rights. You can check out the tentative agreement highlights here and the full tentative agreement here. 

Make sure to look out for: 

• Informational Sessions
• Bargaining Team Office Hour Sessions
• A Ratification FAQ (coming soon)
• Bargaining Team Statements (coming soon)
• Additional Contract Summaries (coming soon)

This evening, our ASE bargaining team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) with the University.  The team is recommending this TA for ratification by membership; the strike is on pause while membership votes on ratification. 

This Tentative Agreement will become our contract only after a majority YES vote among ASE members. Only union members can vote in ratification. The ratification vote will open tomorrow, Wednesday May 15th at noon, and end on Friday May 17th at 7pm.

Contract highlights include:

• • Wage Increases
    • A 36% increase to the base ASE salary over the life of the contract (12%/10%/10%)–the largest raises our bargaining unit has ever won in a contract 
    • Hourly wage increases increases of 8%/5%/5%
    • Reinstatement of guaranteed increases for variable rate departments (3%/2%/2%)

• Healthcare

• • • Premiums: Maintained $0 healthcare premiums
    • Vision Coverage Improvements: including 100% increase in eye exam coverage 

• Immigration

• • • First ever Immigration article: paid leave time for immigration appointments and hearings; right to opportunity for reappointment after loss of work authorization 

• Reasonable Accommodations

• • • First ever Accommodations article with guaranteed, enforceable right to Interactive Process and disability and pregnancy accommodations, including ergonomics
    • Interim measures 

• Summer UPASS

• • • Coverage for Summer UPASS beginning Summer ‘25 regardless of student status/job title

• Childcare Reimbursement

• • • New maximum of $1560 per quarter in childcare reimbursements (previously $1350)

• Intellectual Property

• • • Publication credits will reflect the work of bargaining unit members

• Travel Reimbursements

• • • New commitment to 30 day timeline for reimbursements

• Non-Discrimination Improvements

• • • Annual data on of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation provided to the Union

• Grievance Timeline Improvements

• • 30 day timeline (previously 21 days) to file a grievance (maintained 180 days for harassment and discrimination)

Informational sessions will be held each day of ratification, starting tomorrow morning at 9am, to make sure members have the information they need to vote on this historic agreement. RSVP here!

Bargaining team member office hours will be held every day to make sure that members can ask questions and discuss the ratification vote. RSVP here!