Moments ago, we passed the following proposal to the university administration in an effort to reach an agreement with them before our current contract expires at midnight tonight. The Bargaining Committee has and continues to be invested to reaching a reasonable and agreeable contract by expiration.
Our new proposal includes a 3% wage increase to the base rate for salaried ASEs and a 6% increase for hourly employees. This, combined with removing all current student fees ($317 a quarter), amounts to an 8% effective pay raise for salaried ASEs. We have upheld our demands for trans-inclusive healthcare, 100% coverage for in-network mental health services, and no new healthcare premiums for ASEs. We are proposing this as a one-year, package deal due to continued deliberation by the Washington State Legislature on the Paid Family and Medical Leave Initiative 1633. Rulings on this initiative have the potential to benefit ASEs in the future and we want to be able to codify them in our contract through the bargaining process once they are settled. Rest assured, we have been very intentional in crafting reasonable proposals based on the UW budget, which would significantly raise the standard of living for our members.
The bargaining committee is prepared to negotiate until midnight or later if that’s what it takes to get a fair contract tonight. We will keep you updated. Thank you all for your continued participation, feedback, and support.
Theresa Aliwarga
Douglas Avella-Castro
Dianne Baumann
Andrea Canini
Anthony Castanza
Monica Cortes Viharo
Meg Drouhard
Kristen Garofali
Katya Kolesova
Dylan Mayer
Mandy McCourt
Kristin McCowan
Elizabeth Mills
David Parsons
Shua Sanchez
Maddie Smith
Sam Sumpter
Arash Tarkhan
Judy Twedt