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)
