During our meeting on Thursday April 9, our bargaining committee continued to discuss the economic and non-economic aspects of our bargaining agenda.
The committee and the University came to tentative agreement on (Re)Appointment Notification & Job Description, Discipline or Dismissal, Workload, as well as Workspace & Materials polices. These tentative agreements represent significant wins that expand ASE access to information about their job duties, strengthen ASE protection against arbitrary dismissal, increase means in the contract for ASEs to preserve and expand academic excellence, and cement access to research equipment for ASE appointments.
Unfortunately, the University continued to offer nothing in response to our proposals on Micro-Aggressions and Bathroom Equity, and today’s session reiterated the fact that the University will require significant pressure to move forward on these key issues for gender and social equity.
The University passed proposals on Intellectual Property, Wages, Fees & Tuition Waivers, as well as potential future compliance to the Seattle minimum wage ordinance. The University steadfastly reiterated their proposal about mandatory fees, which constitute a de facto pay cut, and refused to raise ASE wages to make UW a leader among peer institutions. The University was also unable to present a proposal on Insurance. The University said they would address our proposals on Child Care, Debt Management, Leaves of Absence, as well as Job Titles & Classification with their economic package, but we are still awaiting those responses. The economic package represents an unfortunate setback in our negotiations with the University.
Our next bargaining session will take place Wednesday April 15th from 12-4pm in Condon 311.All members are encouraged to attend! For a full list of bargaining dates and times please click see the union’s website or the union’s calendar.