Take action to ensure ALL Postdocs have healthcare
Take Action! Friday, October 2nd, at 9:00am, tell UW HR stop denying healthcare to Postdocs! Everyone’s help is needed to make sure ALL postdocs have healthcare. Many of you have signed the petition calling on UW to reverse its discriminatory policy of denying healthcare to paid-direct postdocs. To build on this, we are planning an action next Friday (10/2) at 9:00 am calling on the UW Administration to provide access to healthcare for all Postdocs. Please RSVP (google form) if you are able to participate in either the in-person (physically distant) action or the remote action!
- If you are able to participate in the (physically distant) direct action:
- Meet at 8:30 a.m. at UW HR (4300 Roosevelt Way NE)
- Wear a UAW t-shirt (extras will be on hand)!
- Bring a banner or sign!
- Masks and physical distancing are mandatory. Hand sanitizer and extra masks will be on hand. This action will take place in public spaces. The entire action will be at this one location and will run until about 10:30am.
- If you are not able to participate in the in-person direct action:
- RSVP (google form) for phone blast instructions the day of the action.
- Join the Postdoc Healthcare Working Group by emailing pdhealthcare@uaw4121.org
Take the Postdoc Bargaining Survey, now live!
Our contract campaign is right around the corner. The 2020 Bargaining Survey is now live, so please take a minute and have your voice heard! The Bargaining Survey is a crucial way for Postdocs to share what priorities we can work to improve through the collective bargaining process when bargaining begins.
Tell UW: Maintain safe transportation options for employees
When Fall Quarter begins, UW administration is planning to eliminate free and discounted parking options for critical staff who are required to travel to campus for work. For many essential workers who have increased COVID risk, public transportation isn’t a viable commuting option during the pandemic, but normal parking rates on campus are incredibly expensive. Please help ensure that vulnerable essential workers continue to have safe transportation options by signing on to this petition! You can also help by participating in this survey (access the survey by signing into your UW G Suite account) on transportation use and parking at UW during the pandemic.
Help Build Political Power
Climate Change. Racial Justice. Economic Recovery. Supreme Court. These are just some of the issues at stake this November and UAW 4121 members are hard at work to ensure we elect candidates who will be champions in Olympia and Washington DC. Everyone’s help is needed!
The Political Working Group has several opportunities between now and Nov 3rd to help candidates like Beth Doglio running for US Congress, WA Senate candidate T’wina Nobles, challenger David Hackney running for WA Representative, and US Senate candidate Mark Kelly win! We are talking to UAW members, our union siblings, and voters to get the message out about what’s at stake this year and how their vote is critical to elect these candidates. If you can text, make phone calls, or write postcards, get in touch! You can sign up for volunteer shifts here or email political@uaw4121.org.
Anti-Discrimination Working Group & Black Caucus
On Tuesday Seattle City Council voted to override Mayor Durkan’s veto of previously passed cuts to SPD’s remaining 2020 budget and investments in community-based programs. These modest cuts and reinvestments are an important first step for prioritizing the health and wellness of BIPOC communities, and are the direct result of months of organizing, direct action, and community pressure. UAW 4121 members have consistently joined our broader communities in these organizing efforts, and will continue to do so in order to win a 50% defunding of SPD in the 2021 budget this Fall. With Wednesday’s news that none of the police officers involved in killing Breonna Taylor would be directly charged, now more than ever it is clear how critical it is to continue building community, coalition, and solidarity in the pursuit of justice for Black lives.
Black Academic Student Employees and Postdocs are warmly invited to join the UAW 4121 Black Caucus. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 29th at 3-4pm via Zoom. For more info and to join the meeting, please email black-caucus@uaw4121.org.
Our Anti-Discrimination Working Group meets weekly to build both short- and long-term campaigns for racial justice and structural equity at UW and beyond. If you have questions or would like to get involved, please fill out this form and an organizer will get back to you. Current projects include:
- Membership education: developing anti-racist trainings for members, which will be offered on a monthly basis starting in October
- Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) committees: researching DEI committees and developing a toolkit of best practices — including best practices around committee structure, transparency, and strategies for making meaningful changes
- Department organizing & mobilization: working with fellow members to develop organizing strategies in their departments/colleges to push for key equity changes, mobilizing others to local events and protests, developing mutual aid, etc.
Your weekly activism read:
Students work to form first campus-wide undergraduate student union in the U.S.
