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?
I’m Peter Lindquist and I’m a 4th year PhD candidate in Earth & Space Sciences studying how Earth’s tectonic plates deform and chemically change at plate boundaries, and I’m also a member of our ASE bargaining team. Today was exciting and frustrating at the same time. It was exciting because we made significant progress with wins on some issues that UW Admin have been really insistent on.
At today’s bargaining session, we won expanded summer U-PASS coverage & defeated their language around being able to fire ASEs for ‘presumed resignation’ after 3 days. On the other hand, it was frustrating because Management once again came to us with a wage proposal that’s nowhere close to meeting our needs (6% / 5% / 6%), and they are maintaining their proposal for us to pay over $1100 per year for our healthcare premiums. How was bargaining for you today, Justin?
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.
Yeah! Personally wages and healthcare premiums are super important to me because more financial stability would tangibly improve my life at UW. It has been really stressful to have to move every year that I’ve lived in Seattle in search of more affordable rent, which has annually taken a toll on my mental health and research capacity. It’s frustrating that the university prides itself on being such a world class teaching and research institution and yet lags behind all of its peers in the country in supporting those of us who actually do that work.
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.
Exactly! Now more than ever we need to put pressure on UW Admin to close the gap at the bargaining table and give us serious proposals on wages that will meet the needs of you and me and every ASE. Speaking of you and me, I heard we share a birthday this weekend – happy birthday!
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?
It has been super rewarding to be involved with our Local while I’ve been at UW, and I am grateful for the efforts of members over the last 20 years who came to fight for the contract rights we have today. I look forward to standing together with the thousands of current ASEs in the coming weeks as we escalate our campaign for the contract that we need today and that will improve UW for future ASEs.
I’m feeling energized by the massive turnout at the March and April actions, and the engagement around the strike authorization vote last week! With the gains that we’ve already made in our next contract, we’re seeing our power, rooted in mass participation and membership empowerment, sending a message to UW Admin that we have each others’ backs. I’m excited to use our collective power to keep moving UW Admin towards our demands at the bargaining table.
Monday, 4/29 Bargaining Session #13
Our next bargaining session with UW Admin is scheduled for Monday, April 29.
We now have three sessions scheduled next week: in addition to Monday, there will be one on Tuesday, April 30 and Friday, May 3.
Bargaining sessions are open to all ASE members, and you can come for any part of the day. Fill out the RSVP form below if you would like to attend.
Tuesday, 4/30 5pm: Strike Captains’ Call
Our Strike Authorization Vote passed with a resounding YES, with 99.11% of votes authorizing the bargaining team to call for a strike if circumstances justify.
Join the next weekly Captains’ Call on Tuesday at 5pm to strategize our next steps towards a fair contract. All members are encouraged to attend!
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)
