Yes – faculty are encouraged to show support to ASEs and can participate in actions in solidarity!

Yes – faculty are encouraged to show support to ASEs and participate in union actions, such as picketing! Here are a few other ways faculty can tangibly support ASEs:

1. Sign this letter of solidarity with ASEs: https://forms.gle/M82stqMLmSMXjXWp7
2. Reach out to your department chair, laborrel@uw.edu, and/or your department’s HR partner and encourage them to move on the critical issues of compensation, healthcare, and non-citizen ASE protections. Let them know that it is critical to invest in a contract which appropriately reflects the importance of the work done by ASEs at UW. Convey the importance of reaching an agreement on a fair contract quickly due to the impact of a potential work stoppage by ASEs in your group. 
3. Cancel or reschedule individual and group events, such as meetings, which would interrupt ASE work stoppage activities. 
4. The Washington statute governing ASE collective bargaining neither prohibits strikes by public employees nor grants the express right to strike. UW Labor Relations will communicate to faculty that striking is “illegal” and that they should report striking employees via entry of unauthorized unpaid time off in Workday. Faculty are encouraged to withhold strike reporting as a show of solidarity with ASEs.

The objective of any work stoppage, such as a strike, is to maximize and consolidate pressure on the employer to adequately meet the needs of their employees. We will continue to bargain in good faith until we have reached an agreement that Academic Student Employees will be excited to ratify. Work stoppages will likely result in temporary pauses to research, including data acquisition, analysis, and communication. However, Academic Student Employees are committed to continuing research after the conclusion of a strike. Faculty, staff, and trainees in research groups are encouraged to communicate regarding the maintenance of essential, emergency, and sensitive research materials so that research may continue after the conclusion of a strike. UW EH&S has a checklist which may serve as a useful guide.

Faculty should not compensate for work otherwise done by ASEs, whether by performing the work themselves or by seeking out other sources of labor. This can include grading, holding quiz sections, analyzing data, running experiments, and communicating results. UW Labor Relations will communicate to faculty that they should develop contingency plans to minimize the impact of the work stoppage on the student experience. However, the impact of the work stoppage should be maximized to pressure the employer to adequately meet the needs of their employees.

There is a long history of faculty support for work stoppages by unionized workers at UW. Currently, over 300 faculty members have signed a letter of support for ASEs. There is no indication that the hundreds of faculty who have supported previous work stoppages have faced disciplinary or legal action, including faculty who signed on to solidarity letters circulated during the 2023 research scientist/postdocs work stoppage. Additionally, all university members, including faculty, have the right to express their personal opinions toward any demonstrations or actions on campus.

ASEs understand that academia is hyper-competitive and that faculty within and outside of UW share concerns about overstretched budgets and diminishing returns. We encourage faculty to organize and pressure the university and funding agencies to alleviate the financial stress of maintaining excellence in research, scholarship, and teaching while appropriately compensating their employees. While the UW does offer short-term funding support via the Royalty Research Fund and the Provost’s Bridge Funding Program, we believe that faculty should interrogate university leadership regarding institute-wide financial strategy and how UW can prioritize meeting the needs of its workforce in a timely fashion.