This past week the University has finally started to provide significant amounts of information in response to our requests. We’re reviewing the documents they’ve provided to establish greater clarity in their positions on our bargaining proposals (including the difficulty they claim they’ll have in waiving fees for Academic Student Employees working on grants and contracts). The state legislature is also still in special session, which means there’s still a lack of clarity around the state budget and how that might affect the University’s budget.
For these reasons the University proposed another short-term extension to our contract through Friday, May 20th, 2011, and we have agreed. Thanks for your patience as we grind through this process, and as always, keep contacting us with questions or ideas.
In the meantime, UAW 4121 members are engaging legislators to build broader support for our contract campaign and the prioritization of access and quality at UW. Contact us to get more involved in these efforts.
Also, be sure to check out two recent op-eds that speak very informatively to our issues in negotiations:
- by Trevor Griffey, a UAW 4121 member.
- by Dave Freiboth, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Martin Luther King County Labor Council.
In Solidarity,
UAW 4121 Bargaining Committee