Black History Month // February Membership Meeting // Winter Vacancy Election // Contract Enforcement Trainings // & More!

To kick things off for Black History Month this year, check out this list of resources and current initiatives that the UW Black Student Union (BSU) compiled on this linktr.ee. BSU has a “Black Is” series every Wednesday of this month at 6pm at the Ethnic Cultural Center. If you are a Black graduate student at UW, you are also encouraged to reach out to bgsa@uw.edu to get connected with the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA). BGSA has a speaker series every Friday of this month from 12-1pm with lunch provided; you can register here.

Our next membership meeting will be Thursday 2/9 from 5-6pm, and will be conducted via Zoom. To access the Zoom link, fill out this RSVP form. All members in good standing are encouraged to attend, and new members may sign up for UAW 4121 by filling out this membership form. The proposed agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Any member who would like to propose additional agenda items or submit materials for the meeting is welcome to email uaw4121@uaw4121.org by 5pm on Wednesday 2/8. For more information about how the meeting will be structured and how you can use Zoom’s features to participate, check out this page on our website.

As a reminder, nominations for all vacant positions in UAW 4121 opened Wednesday, January 25rd and will close on Saturday, February 4th, at 5:00 p.m. PDT.

You do not have to be nominated by someone else–to run for the position, you simply have to accept your automatic nomination! Please fill out this google form to accept nomination for one position only.

This 2-part training will cover the basic elements of contract enforcement, including what a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is; how contract enforcement is related to bargaining, organizing, and building power; best practices for identifying issues, handling & filing grievances; and more. We’ll also discuss case studies, brainstorm proactive contract enforcement practices, and have room for Q&A. Attending both parts of the training is highly encouraged, as the content will build on each other.

Dates: Monday, 2/6 from 4:30pm – 6:30pm and Monday, 2/13 from 4:30pm – 6:30pm over Zoom. RSVP here for the Zoom link.

This training is open to all members! The goal of these sessions is to empower all members with a deep understanding of the contract enforcement process and how it relates to many of the issues that we face as academic student employees, including but not limited to: workload, workspace, non-discrimination and harassment, and more.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Trainings & Political Education Workgroup at political-education@uaw4121.org.

This week, hundreds of Research Scientists and Engineers (RSEs) A-4 and Postdocs gathered in rooms, labs, and lecture halls across and off campus and made the decision to hold Strike Authorization Votes (SAV) from February 6th-16th in each unit.

Here are some Strike Authorization Vote basics:

Members in all units—ASEs, Postdocs, and RSEs—are encouraged to attend the Cross-Unit Organizing Coordination meeting next Tuesday (2/7) at 5pm over Zoom to get updates and get involved in organizing. RSVP here!

At the end of 2020, due to community pressure the Seattle City Council allocated $30M to research and implement a participatory budgeting process in Seattle. In the Black Brilliance Research Project (BBRP) final report, BBRP identified a participatory budgeting (PB) process that is community-led and equity-focused that will allocate money to public safety investments. PB addresses the root causes of harm and is informed by those communities most impacted by police violence and incarceration. The BBRP report also outlines a Steering Committee of community members with lived-experience to implement participatory budgeting.

The kick-off party for Participatory Budgeting in Seattle is on February 5th 1-4pm at Pratt Park! This party is to celebrate the $30M win and there will be food, a DJ, and some swag for the first few who get there. More information here.

RSVP here to join fellow ASEs from across departments at the February ASE Organizing Strategy Meeting on Thursday, 2/16 at 5:30pm (masks required for in person attendance at Bloedel 070). Building on the January ASE Organizing Strategy Meeting, we will be talking more about concrete timelines for organizing and reviewing our plans for upcoming structure tests and how they relate to building power for bargaining. Bring your ideas, questions, and energy & spread the word in your departments! RSVP here, and keep an eye out for additional organizing trainings and strategy meetings in the coming year. Email ase-organizing@uaw4121.org with any questions and to get involved.

City of Seattle residents will vote on a ballot initiative to create a publicly-owned housing developer that will build, develop, and rent self-sustaining, permanently affordable social housing in Seattle. Our union has endorsed this initiative as we believe it will help alleviate housing insecurity and rent burden among our members and in the greater community.

This is a special election, so your ballots must be delivered or mailed by Tuesday, February 14 (Valentine’s Day). If you’re new to Seattle and would like to register to vote for this historic initiative, there’s still time to do so online or in person. And if you’d like to help get out the vote, see this event calendar.

As a reminder, runoff elections have begun for the offices of UAW International President and Vice President. The deadline for ballot returns will be February 28, 2023. If you have not received your ballot, you should request a replacement right away at uawvote.com or by calling 855-433-8683. Requests for replacement ballots must be received no later than February 15.

Find more information about the election process, eligibility to vote, and more on the IEB Elections page on our website and on the Federal Monitor’s Elections page. As with the first round of voting, our Organizing Committees will be conducting a number of Get Out the Vote efforts to reach out to fellow UAW 4121 members and encourage everyone to participate in the runoff election. To get involved with this work, email ase-organizing@uaw4121.org.

In Solidarity,
Justin Applegate
Lucia Baker
Ana Bennett
Rebecca Bluett
Nick Bolten
Francesca Colonnese
Pat Erickson
Max Friedfeld
Colleen Hoffman
Soohyung Hur
Levin Kim
Brianne King
Avi Matarasso
Nicel Mohamed-Hinds
Anzela Niraula
Marissa Parker
Mara Rafferty
Tahiyat Rahman
Anastasia Schaadhart
Audrey Seo
Jer Steeger
Samantha Thompson
Natalie Wellen
Tricia Wu
Yuying Xie