First, we want to acknowledge that on Wednesday, union members mobilized at a moment’s notice at the SEA-TAC airport to support a fellow UAW 4121 member and family member who were detained at SEA-TAC airport when returning to the US on a flight. They were deported on Wednesday afternoon without due process and so our response must be both external and internal. Union members are mobilizing on May Day for worker and migrant rights– RSVP HERE, but we also need to build plans for how we, as a Local and as union members, can be as prepared as possible for future rapid responses – 4/21 Meeting. We must continue building power to support and protect our international colleagues through direct actions and stronger language in all of our contracts.
Wednesday was also the fourth bargaining session with UW management for our next Research Staff (RS) contract.
Research Staff who travel and perform field work face obstacles getting reimbursed for travel and for the purchase of necessary and sometimes urgent research materials out of pocket. As a result, they are forced to find workarounds such as sleeping in vehicles, airports, or outside, just to mention a few. Our proposal addresses the timeliness and expanded reimbursement coverage so Research Staff can focus on the research!
Management did not present any new proposals, nor offered any counterproposals to the 12 outstanding articles our bargaining team has presented.
Check out Evan and Mickey’s video below for a summary and stay up-to-date on the latest bargaining updates on our bargaining webpage here.
Membership is the most direct way to win the priorities that matter to us. If you’re not a member yet, join today. Already in? Talk to your coworkers and ask them to join and come to the Our Labor Our Movement training happening this weekend in Seattle! It is a great opportunity for folks with all levels of organizing experience to hone our skills for building power to improve our working conditions, with lunch provided! RSVP
Our Proposals
| Article | The Problem | Member-Driven Solution |
| 37: Travel Costs | Per diem rates do not keep up with the realistic costs of in-the-field and community-based work, and reimbursement can take months, placing undue burden on research staff. | We made substantial changes to speed up the travel reimbursement process and create more exceptions to lodging cost restrictions to support staff who struggle to find accommodations that meet current guidelines. |
| 43: Workspace and Materials | Field researchers and other staff sometimes need to make urgent purchases – like repair and maintenance equipment for earthquake and volcano monitoring – without time to get the usual pre-approvals currently required. | We made changes to support instances where research staff need to make necessary equipment purchases on short notice and may not be able to get prior approval from a PI. We proposed a 30-day window from the time of submission to reimbursements disbursed. |
We also reached a tentative agreement (TA) on Article 12: Health Care Benefits, that is negotiated with the state (not UW) through a coalition of unions. TA’ing this article just formally adds the results of this coalition bargaining to our contract.
Additionally, we learned more about how UW handles the rehire process so that we can improve it to better suit our members’ needs. If you have experience with the rehire list and want to work on this article, reply to this email!
In solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team
Gabriel Beuchat
Iván Cruz
Tess Grover
KeliAnne Hara-Hubbard
Evan Howard
Jessamy Johnson
Lucas O’Bryan
N. Shane Patrick
Gracy Shaw