Today at noon, hundreds of ASEs and community members gathered for a rally on the HUB Lawn, during which we committed to strike starting on May 14 if we do not have a new contract.

UW Admin’s behavior this week has been disappointing. During Tuesday’s bargaining session, we agreed to extend our contract until the end of today and passed proposals on all remaining articles to Management to reaffirm our commitment to making progress to a fair contract.

At the start of today’s bargaining session, UW Admin’s team kept us waiting two hours–only to come to the table to complain about our peaceful mass sit-in at the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences yesterday, alleging that it was a form of intimidation and an attempt to bargain outside the bargaining table. Neither of these accusations are based in reality. Yesterday, ASEs spent the day singing and working in the Dean’s office following her explicit invitation to stay in the office until 5pm, and were taken by surprise when four UWPD officers arrived at 4pm. When asked to clarify what about the sit-in had caused fear and trauma, Admin’s team said “there were a lot of people there.”

After stalling for several more hours, Admin neglected to return to the table; reasserted their previous inadequate offer; rejected our request to consider alternative mediation ideas; and unilaterally requested mediation through the state.

Our team finished the day by calling Admin to the table to respond to their accusations and implore them to participate in the process.

This is the statement bargaining team member Nelson Niu made at the table:

We want to start by reaffirming that yesterday’s actions were never intended to make anyone feel unsafe. We sought a productive conversation with one of our deans about how she could best support our ASE contract campaign, and as we’ve reiterated throughout this process—we’re committed to the bargaining process and to reaching an agreement on a contract that meets our needs.

As elected Bargaining Team members, we have a duty to our membership to reach an agreement on a contract that addresses our top priorities of a living wage, $0 healthcare premiums, and protections for international and undocumented ASEs. Yesterday, following months of negotiations, our members made our voices heard to a leader that has significant power and responsibility over our working and living conditions.

Yesterday morning, we had a peaceful discussion with Deans Harris and Denis by their offices. During that conversation, Dean Harris welcomed us to stay until her office closed at 5pm. We took her up on the offer, and spent the day having discussions with each other, occasionally singing songs highlighting our needs, and having productive interactions with faculty and community members that came by the office. So when uniformed UWPD officers appeared on the scene at 4pm, fear and panic erupted among the ASEs gathered at the scene who had expected to continue a peaceful discussion—panic justifiably heightened by the brutal retaliation against peaceful protestors at college campuses throughout the country over the last few weeks. Despite how traumatic this unprovoked escalation was, our members peacefully and calmly complied with all of the directions issued to us by the police.

As always, we are committed to reaching an agreement and we are here to bargain in good faith. We reiterate that the best way to resolve these tensions will be to reach an agreement that both parties can be proud of, and we are looking forward to getting there. Thank you.

After today’s exciting rally & sit-in in the Life Sciences Building to round out Day 3 of Sit-In 4121, we are more energized and ready than ever to fight for a fair contract. A Strike FAQ is now up in the ASE Bargaining Portal, which covers common questions for ASEs as well as those for how Postdocs & RSEs, undergrads, and faculty can stand in solidarity with us.

It’s time for all hands on deck to build the strongest strike possible – sign up now to be a strike captain for your department to keep members in your network informed and engaged.

In solidarity,
Your ASE Bargaining Team

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)
Miro Stuke (Environmental & Forest Sciences)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Yuying Xie (Geography)

Yesterday and this morning, we saw small movements in our Big Three Issues: Wages, Healthcare, and Immigration. But these small movements are not enough. Admin will only move if we make them, so sign up now.

Wages
Admin has moved to 6%/6%/6% raises over the three years of the contract while we proposed a 47% increase in the first year so that we make a similar salary to many University of California ASEs. Admin also continues to reject our proposal that all variable rate departments be guaranteed raises.

Healthcare 
Admin made insignificant movement as they are still proposing that we start paying premiums. We continue to reject this part of UW’s proposal entirely–maintaining that we need $0 premiums to afford our healthcare.

Immigration
Admin has proposed mostly language that repeats current policies for non-citizen ASEs. We continue to fight for a new article with protections for non-citizen ASEs. 

When our contract ends at midnight, we enter into a one-year “evergreen” period in which policies like grievances, leaves, health insurance, and other necessities continue so that we can keep working and the University can continue. However, there will be no wage increases and no other improvements to working conditions until we ratify our next contract. We need a new contract now!

Have questions? Want to get more involved? Be sure to join the 4121 Slack.

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)

I’m Justin Applegate. I’m a 4th Year PhD candidate in the department of Biochemistry. I study how pathogenic bacteria recognize and attach to human cells during infection, and I am a member of the ASE bargaining team. So Peter, how was bargaining for you today?

Well, I am really excited about what we’ve agreed with UW Admin on regarding the summer U-PASS. This is something I’ve personally been affected by when I was a summer ASE and had to pay for a transit pass out of pocket, and during my time on our Contract Enforcement Workgroup I’ve supported a lot of members who were not eligible for a U-PASS during the summer.

I’m also super energized that we were able to get rid of UW admin’s job abandonment proposal that would have allowed them to effectively fire any ASE who didn’t check in with their supervisor for three days. I definitely think we saw the direct results of everyone’s combined voice through the strike authorization vote over the last few days. We had over 3000 bargaining unit members vote and over 99% of them voted to authorize a strike if needed. I feel our collective power now, and am looking forward to moving UW Admin to give reasonable proposals around wages, international student support, and maintaining $0 healthcare premiums.

That’s right! I saw in our response to Provost Serio that in a few months, the lowest-paid of our ASE colleagues at the University of California will make $3,777.83 per month. Our ASE colleagues at WSU Vancouver, having just won their first contract in January, will be making $3,124 per month. Meanwhile, the base rate for ASEs at UW is just $2,664 – and UW’s latest proposal would bring it up to just $2,823.84 this Fall. It’s wild that the University is making proposals that are lagging so far behind other peer institutions, and simply out of touch with reality.

Happy birthday to you too! You know who else has a birthday this weekend? Our local UAW 4121 is turning 20 years old on Sunday, 4/28!

Looking at all the gains our local has made in the past, like winning trans-inclusive healthcare in 2018 to defeating the xenophobic UW international student fee & Trump’s Muslim ban in 2017, and so much more – I feel connected to the efforts of organizers in the past and feel empowered to be building on this with wins for future ASEs. Peter, how do you feel about being involved in a union with such a history?

You can access & read the proposals from today’s bargaining session here.

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.

In solidarity,
ASE Bargaining Team

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)
Miro Stuke (Forestry)

Hi Colleague,

I’m Tahiyat Rahman, an RA in Physics and a member of the ASE Bargaining Team.

I’m frustrated that UW Admin is showing callous disregard for the damage they’re doing with their unserious proposals—damaging not just to ASEs, but to the whole UW community.

I’m angry that despite us telling them clearly and loudly our priorities that we need to see in our next contract to get to an agreement, UW Admin is choosing to ignore reality rather than taking responsibility for their own lack of planning. They’ve had three years to prepare for our negotiations, they’ve seen how wages in our industry have been increasing, they’ve seen how the cost of living in the Puget Sound has been going up. And now, they’re insisting on offers that are shifting the burden of their poor planning onto ASEs.

Our real livelihoods are at stake, but Admin is still far behind where it needs to be on our key issues, including compensation and non-citizen ASE rights. We’ve seen this lack of planning by UW before, and it’s led to significant disruption. For example, when RSEs bargained in 2023 and pointed out that their wages were 30% behind market according to UW’s own analysis, University negotiators denounced RSEs for making wildly unrealistic proposals – only to agree to them later in the face of a strike.

At our Practice Picket for Power last Wednesday, we used our bodies, voices, and our minds to let them know: time’s up; pay up. Our practice pickets sent them that message. Admin saw our collective power and responded to the pressure with some movements at the bargaining table today, and we were able to move closer to a strong contract by reaching tentative agreements on five articles and MOUs. Let’s keep escalating – I will be voting yes in our Strike Authorization and am ready to strike, fueled by anger and emboldened by hope.

With one week until our current contract expires, we are holding a Strike Authorization Vote (SAV) until Thursday. It is imperative that we all participate: A successful SAV—with the majority of ASE members participating and voting “Yes”—can provoke significant movement at the table on its own by showing Admin that we have the organization and willpower to carry out a strike if necessary.

Now more than ever, we need to be talking with our peers in our departments and making sure we’re all signed up as members, and voting in the SAV. All members are highly encouraged to attend one of the SAV Town Halls on Wednesday and Thursday to ask questions, get info, and strategize about carrying out an effective strike. For more information and for FAQs, visit https://www.uaw4121.org/2024-ase-sav/.

For more information and FAQs, visit the 2024 ASE Bargaining Portal on the UAW 4121 website!

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)

Hi Colleague,

Last Friday, more than 1,000 ASEs and supporters gathered in the Quad to demand that UW Admin stop stalling at the table and give us real proposals. The bargaining session yesterday makes it clear – they need to hear it again, and louder. Management responded to many of our proposals with little movement or outright rejecting them. In order for us to reach agreement on a strong contract by April 30th, we need real proposals now. 

We made some progress towards a strong contract by reaching a tentative agreement on Intellectual Property with new language to ensure that our contributions to scholarship are fairly recognized, addressing a key issue that ASEs have faced in labs with harassment and bullying from mentors. 

However, we have yet to see any real proposals from UW Admin on our key priorities. With yesterday’s proposals, UW Admin continues to want to pay ASEs less to work more – while making it easier to fire us. Their second wages proposal was a 4% / 3% / 3% increase to the base salary rate, still less than their own projected rates of inflation. They reasserted their language removing the 220 hour quarterly maximum on workload as well as presumed resignation & abandonment. They still believe ASEs should pay at least $1,092 more with no improvements to healthcare. 

We need to keep turning up the pressure. See you on the 17th at noon by the George Washington statue near Red Square to give Admin a taste of what’s to come if they continue to stall. 

Compensation

We remain far apart on articles related to compensation. UW Admin passed a proposal with a small increase to the first year of a proposed 3-year contract, with 4% / 3% / 3% wage increases, which is still lower than their own projected rates of inflation over the same time period. They still maintain that ASEs should pay fees to work at the UW. We countered with proposals to make progress towards a strong contract with wages that keep up with the high cost of living in the Puget Sound as well as enshrining increases to variable salary rates in our contracts.  

Healthcare / Childcare / GAIP Appendix

UW reiterated their desire to make us pay over $1100/year in premiums. We continue to fight for $0 premiums while making small changes to our proposals around medical costs, dental, and vision. We made some progress on childcare, with UW Admin’s latest proposal increasing the amount of childcare funds for each ASE parent but no responses to anything else. 

New Article XX: Reasonable Accommodations

As many responses on the bargaining survey showed, the current process for accessing accommodations as an ASE is an unclear bureaucratic puzzle. We made progress at the bargaining table towards an article to enshrine an interactive process for ASEs to access reasonable accommodations, with interim protections and union representation for DSO meetings. 

New Article XX: Immigration

Management, after making us wait for 2 months, finally responded with no significant changes to the status quo. In our counter proposal, we reiterated our priorities for concrete, material support for non-citizen ASEs with financial support to offset mandatory visa fees that non-citizen ASEs have to pay to work at the UW, paid leave for immigration-related activities, and concrete measures to increase appointment security for non-citizen ASEs dealing with situations beyond individual control that frequently arise in the current immigration system. 

Article 27 (Travel and Purchasing) + Package of Articles 21 (Parking and Transit), 15 (Job Titles and Classifications) & 25 (Summer Non-Registered Graduate Research Student Assistants)

We made significant progress towards improvements to our travel and reimbursement policies in our next contract. UW Admin maintains that we should have to pay to work by making us front the costs of work-related travel and minimize our access to transit benefits. We passed a proposal that would streamline these processes and to guarantee ASEs transit passes for every quarter they work.

The 2024 ASE Bargaining Portal has been added to the UAW 4121 website!

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.  

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)

Hi Colleague,

UW Admin continues to make little movement towards our next contract. This Friday (3/29) at noon on the Quad – join your coworkers under the iconic UW cherry blossoms to demand that UW Management make substantive proposals on compensation, non-citizen ASE support, accessibility, and more – NOW.

Join your coworkers among UW’s famous union-made cherry trees (shoutout to our WFSE union siblings!) to give UW Admin a taste of what’s to come if we don’t get the contract we deserve.

Yesterday, UW Admin gave us counter-proposals on Articles 4: Appointment & Reappointment Notification and Job Description, XX: Reasonable Accommodations, 21: Parking and Transit, 27: Travel and Purchasing, 9: Health and Safety, and 36: Workplace and Materials.

With yesterday’s counter-proposals on reasonable accommodations and appointments, UW Admin sent a clear message: Management believes they should be able to fire ASEs when convenient, while forcing us to pay more to work at UW.

Article 4 (Appointment & Reappointment Notification and Job Description)

UW continues to insist on language that can fire us if our supervisor has not seen us for three days, claiming that they need protection from ASEs’ “job abandonment.”  

Article XX (Reasonable Accommodation)

UW Admin continues to want to fire disabled ASEs if they think necessary accommodations aren’t reasonable—this effectively means that ASEs can be fired if the university is uncooperative about their workplace needs. We passed a counter on accommodations that demonstrates movement on accessibility training and pregnancy accommodations, while maintaining the rights of disabled ASEs requesting accommodation.

Article 21 (Parking and Transit)

Admin passed us a proposal without significant changes to these benefits. We’re continuing to fight to make campus more accessible and to fix the summer UPASS gap for Graduate Summer Research Assistants (GRSAs).

Article 27 (Travel and Purchasing)

UW wants 30 days to even begin to process travel reimbursements. We are continuing to propose that UW prioritize paying costs for travel and materials upfront. If that’s not possible, we proposed 14 day timelines for reimbursement, ensuring that ASEs no longer have to front UW money for months at a time for the work that we do to keep UW running.

We made progress towards a strong contract yesterday by reaching tentative agreements with UW Admin on A9: Health & Safety and A36: Workplace & Materials.

Article 9 (Health and Safety)

We reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) with Admin to add the university’s policies and practices around ergonomic equipment to our contract—making access to ergonomic evaluations a grievable right for ASEs.

Article 36 (Workplace and Materials)

We also tentatively agreed to Admin’s proposal for Article 36, which affirms that ASEs should not be paying for materials needed to do their jobs.

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)

My name is Candice, and I’m a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program researching the molecular details of early cancer detection. But since starting grad school in Fall 2020 and experiencing firsthand the drastic changes in academic and healthcare infrastructures throughout the pandemic, I’ve become increasingly passionate about improving structural conditions for my broader community—especially with policies concerning our health.

Healthcare is a human right. Admin’s attitude shows their callousness towards ASE health needs—and a fundamental opposition to getting people the care they need to do their jobs, let alone live as they deserve. They’ve shown complete disinterest in discussing vision, dental, physical therapy or any of the other things we need to keep our healthcare at top quality. 

I fundamentally believe in our collective power. We can build a future where great healthcare is a given, not a luxury through our solidarity as academic workers. Together, through collective action, we will empower each other to advocate for the basic care we all deserve—regardless of financial concerns. Let’s continue this vital work together by coalescing at the ASE rally on the 29th at noon at the UW quad. With 1000+ of us showing up to support, we can extend our power in transforming our vision for comprehensive healthcare into reality.

With today’s initial proposals on Wages, Workload, and Healthcare, UW Admin sent a clear message: Management believes that ASEs should be paying more to work as ASEs. 

After nearly two months at the bargaining table, UW Admin rounded out their initial proposals yesterday by putting forth language that: 

1. removes the maximum workload (220 hours) that an ASE can be expected to work per quarter
2. has 3% annual wage increases (below the projected rate of inflation) over the life of the contract
3. increases GAIP healthcare premiums from $0 to $1092 per year.

UW only works because we do — we teach the majority of student contact hours and power the research that makes UW a $9 billion institution. To continue building a UW that lives up to its mission, we need a strong contract that: 

1. guarantees wages that keeps up with the rising costs of living in Puget Sound
2. includes meaningful support for non-citizen ASEs
3. ends regressive pay-to-work fees ensures that we can continue to build a UW that lives up to its mission.

Summaries of UW Admin’s Proposals from 3/22

As countless responses from our Bargaining Survey and the Equity Survey show, equity is a serious issue that many ASEs are facing. UW Admin’s proposal on workload flagrantly shifts the burden of structural inequities in academia onto individual ASEs, particularly to those of us from underrepresented backgrounds.

Article 33: Wages
After more than a month of eager anticipation since we passed our initial Wages proposal, UW Admin gave their initial proposal on wages – 3% increases annually over the life of the contract. This is lower than UW Admin’s projected rates of inflation (4.2%, 5.5%, 5.5%) included in their own proposed costing of our initial proposals.

In essence, UW Admin’s initial wages proposal is a pay cut. In our bargaining survey, the message was clear: ASEs need to be paid sustainably to be able to live in the Puget Sound in order to continue working at the University of Washington. Our counter proposal maintains such an increase to our base wage by 60%, alongside adjustment for inflation throughout the duration of the contract.

Article 13: Insurance Programs & Appendix 1: GAIP
Our current healthcare (GAIP) is one of the strongest and most inclusive plans in the higher ed sector – a direct result of strong collective actions by ASEs past and present over the last twenty years. Rather than building on this towards healthcare support that continues to set industry standards, UW Admin is proposing to undo this progress by rolling back premiums from full coverage to 85%. 

This proposal means that ASE working throughout the academic year would pay $1092 for the same level of healthcare coverage that we currently have, with no additional vision and dental care benefits or increased dependent coverage.

In the coming days, the 2024 ASE Bargaining Portal will be added to the UAW 4121 website. In the meantime, you can access & read the proposals from today’s bargaining session here.

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.  

In solidarity,
ASE Bargaining Team

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)

Hi Colleague,

I’m Anastasia, a member of our ASE bargaining team and a PhD candidate at the Information School working as a Research Assistant.

I came to UW in 2019 to work on disability justice and accessible technology – my current research is in health informatics, working with people who have experienced psychiatric hospitalization. 

As a disabled ASE, I know from personal experience that the current process for requesting, receiving, and implementing accommodations is a confusing, long, and bureaucratic one. I wasn’t surprised to see that so many of us reported failing to receive necessary accommodations on the 2023 Equity Survey, but the numbers were damning. Only 19% of respondents were able to get proper accommodations. This has driven my work with our Accessibility Workgroup, where we’ve been focusing on improving accessibility and expanding access to accommodations in our next contract. If you’ve also been impacted by these policies, I’d love to chat — reply to this email, or message me on our 4121 Slack.

On a broader level, I grew up in Washington state and I’ve seen my home state being increasingly shaped by large institutions like Microsoft, Amazon, the University of Washington, and more. As these institutions have grown, so has the outsized wealth inequality in the Puget Sound that we are facing now – and will continue to face if institutional greed remains the default logic of our region. 

I’m energized by us coming together to demand a better future, and building together a world that works better for all of us. See you on the 29th at noon, by the cherry blossoms on the Quad.

Our fifth bargaining session started off with Management proposing to maintain current contract language on Articles 3: Definitions, 6: Discipline or Dismissal, 18: Management Rights, 26: Training, and the letter of understanding on workers compensation. After reviewing the language during caucus discussions, we tentatively agreed to accept their proposals. We made additional progress towards a strong contract by reaching tentative agreements on Article 1: Purpose & Intent after Management agreed to more specific language, and 28: Union-Management Committee. In the afternoon, we had multiple discussions with Management in which we reiterated our priorities towards a more equitable UW, especially for disabled ASEs and non-citizen ASEs. By the end of the day, we passed a counter to Management’s initial proposal on the new article on reasonable accommodations, emphasizing the need for a clear, supportive, and flexible process. 

With a little over forty days until our current contract expires on April 30th and with seven scheduled bargaining sessions remaining, we are still waiting for Management’s initial proposals on our key priority issues, such as compensation and international ASE protections.

In the coming days, the 2024 ASE Bargaining Portal will be added to the UAW 4121 website. In the meantime, you can access & read the proposals from today’s bargaining session here.

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.  

Dear Colleague,

Nelson here—Math PhD student, Teaching Assistant, and ASE Bargaining Team member. This past year, I’ve been organizing to develop our demands for international ASE protections, workplace equity, and more. This is my first time on a union bargaining team, so I wanted to share some of my experiences and impressions so far.

Yesterday was our fourth bargaining session with UW Admin. After a day of Zoom bargaining in my Padelford office, I cooled off at my department’s end-of-year party next door. Everyone wanted to hear how contract negotiations were going—ASEs, prospective grad students, postdocs, and faculty alike—and I was excited to share our progress.

Now that bargaining is underway, I’m proud of how we as ASEs can efficiently respond to every proposal that Admin sends our way, because we’ve put in the work to build our communication networks and shape our priorities for our next contract together. We’ve consistently put the ball back in Admin’s court, proving that we’re ready for them to come to the table with real offers. We have yet to hear their initial proposals on our top priorities: higher wages, lower fees, comprehensive healthcare, and protections for our international ASEs.

As Winter Quarter draws to a close, we’ll keep building our momentum into Spring. On our first Friday back from Spring Break, March 29, let’s rally together at noon to tell UW Admin that we need a contract that reflects our priorities—and we need it now.

Throughout my time in our union, I’ve been inspired by just how willing we are to stand up for our worker rights. It’s hardly surprising—our very own livelihoods are at stake. Institutional bureaucracy is oppressive in its sluggishness, in the way it sows division, making it easy to pass the buck from one administrative office to another. But we resist through unity and mobilization, by showing up for each other, for ourselves.

Keep on showing up. See you on March 29.

We have now had four bargaining sessions with UW Admin, and we are still waiting for their initial proposals on our key priority issues, such as compensation and international ASE protections, as well as their responses on all other articles.

In yesterday’s bargaining session, we made progress on Article 8: Grievance Procedure that would expand our tools to resolve workplace issues through the grievance process, including an optional step for mediation. Relatedly, to protect and expand union rights at our workplace, we reasserted our package proposal with Articles 14: Job Posting and 30: Union Security.

Management passed their initial proposal on Article 20: Non-Discrimination and Harassment that mostly maintains our current contract. Before closing out the day, we responded with a counter-proposal for this article emphasizing our top priorities in ensuring safe and equitable access to our workplace.

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)

Yesterday, we met with UW Management in our third bargaining session. We presented two proposals and responded to Management’s proposals that they started bringing to the table. This was the last bargaining session of February, with two months until the end of our current contract (April 30th).

The employee-serving Disability Services Office (DSO) and the student-serving Disability Resources for Students (DRS) are under-resourced to sufficiently meet our workforce’s needs, on top of administrative confusion over which office is best suited for supporting ASEs, who are both students and employees. Additionally, ASE supervisors often fail to implement ASE accommodations without consequences, and ASEs also deserve more training and resources to make coursework and lab sections accessible. In our proposal, we suggested a number of structural changes, including interim accommodations for accessibility requests, a designated ASE contact at DSO, jointly-developed trainings on accommodations and accessibility, and annual meetings between us and the DSO to discuss and make plans for the state of ASE accessibility at UW.

As ASEs, we know that proper credit for our work (research, scholarship, etc.) is critical for our career development, and we have made clear in our new MOU for a transitional funding program that this is one of the many ways that power imbalances exacerbate the impacts of harassment and discrimination in academia. Therefore, we proposed a new section to Article 12 to ensure that ASEs’ receive proper credit for contributions to scholarship and research.

Finally, we received a handful of initial proposals and new language from Management throughout the day, including a new section on “presumed resignation” that would make it easier for UW to terminate ASEs without recourse in Article 4 (Appointment & Reappointment Notification and Job Description).

Additionally, Management proposed a number of changes to Article 8 (Grievance Procedure) in their initial proposal, including longer response timelines, additional language around selecting arbitrators, and a new step for mediation in the grievance process. In response, we passed a counter-proposal that would expand and strengthen our tools in the grievance process to effectively resolve workplace issues and based on caucus deliberations, which included active members from our union’s Contract Enforcement Working Group. To round out the day, we passed a package proposal to Management as a response to their proposals on Articles 14 (Personnel Files) and 30 (Union Security) to affirm our commitment to bargaining in good faith towards a fair contract.

Questions? Want to get more involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining@uaw4121.org.

Natalie Wellen (Applied Mathematics)
Justin Applegate (Biochemistry)
Tahiyat Rahman (Physics)
Anastasia Schaadhardt (Information School)
Soohyung Hur (Geography)
Yuying Xie (Geography)
Francesca Colonnese (English)
Candice Young (Molecular & Cellular Biology)
Natasha Crepeau (Mathematics)
Nelson Niu (Mathematics)
Jayden Wood (Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Lindquist (Earth & Space Sciences)