Friday, January 18, 2019
Dear Colleague,
Please take 10 minutes today to take our equity survey if you haven’t yet! The info from this survey helps the bargaining team to better understand what issues Postdocs are facing in the workplace, both at UW and in the field, and will help us to bargain strong protections against discrimination.
Bargaining Updates:
On Thursday in bargaining, we were given counter proposals on Appointments & Reappointments, Layoffs, and Discipline and Dismissal. The UW administration proposed shortening our proposed appointment length to just one year, with reappointments of also one year. Their proposal is coupled with a 30-day notice for layoffs, which represents a decrease in notice time for many Postdocs. We think that a longer initial appointment gives Postdocs increased security, both in our jobs and in planning our lives. We’re currently working on counters to all of these. You can read all current proposals .
Other Union Activity on Campus:
Yesterday we also showed our solidarity with SAG-AFTRA, the union representing journalists and other employees at KUOW. They also formed their union last year and are currently bargaining their first contract with the UW Administration and are facing many of the same issues as Postdocs. Check out their website .
You Can Help Preserve Title IX!
UAW members here at UW and other institutions nationwide are taking action to resist Education Secretary DeVos’ proposed changes to Title IX, which would significantly roll back federal protections against gender discrimination, and sexual harassment and violence. This week, hundreds of members of the campus community, many of them from our union, attended Title IX input fora sponsored by UW, to communicate how damaging these changes would be to equality in academia. Additionally, together with other UAW Higher Ed unions, we are currently drafting public comments to voice our collective opposition to these changes. To amplify this message as well as ensure that as many people as possible are able to individually express their opposition, we urge all Postdocs toto the Department of Education. We have to help with submitting your comment as well as some suggestions for how you can most effectively voice your opposition.
Working Groups:
Get involved with our working groups to help develop what goes in our contract! We have groups on a variety of topics, from wages to discrimination. If you’re interested, check out our for an up-to-date calendar of meetings, and reach out to current work group members to find out more:
- Anti-Discrimination & Harassment: pdantidiscrimination@uaw4121.org
- Communications: pdcommunications@uaw4121.org
- Healthcare: pdhealthcare@uaw4121.org
- International Postdocs: pdinternational@uaw4121.org
- Parenting Postdocs: pdparenting@uaw4121.org
- Requests for Information: pdrfi@uaw4121.org
- Wages & Compensation: pdwagescompensation@uaw4121.org
As always, this is your union, so don’t hesitate to get in touch via, or our inbox! Or find us at our next membership meeting on Thursday, January 31.
In solidarity,
Your UWPU / UAW 4121 Bargaining Committee
Tina Angerer, Bioengineering
Pamela Baker, Biological Structure
Matt Crane, Chemistry
Marina Dütsch, Earth and Space Sciences
Max Friedfeld, Chemistry
Hannah Horowitz, Atmospheric Sciences
Ajay Jajodia, Medical Genetics
Jiae Lee, Biochemistry
Christopher Morrison, Astronomy
Kelly Patton, Physics
Hossein Sartipizadeh, Aeronautics & Astronautics
Abdul Basit Shaikh, Pharmaceutics
Thomas Smith, Medical Genetics
Michael Taylor, Bioengineering
Michelle Tigchelaar, Atmospheric Sciences
Jian Wang, Chemistry
Alex White, Psychology
Huajun Xu, Chemistry