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.
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)
