The UAW 4121 contract expires April 30, 2015. In preparation for bargaining a new contract, Local 4121 members have been researching how our successful contract enforcement efforts at UW and our solidarity efforts with other unions and campus/community groups can be developed into a bargaining agenda that fosters excellence in teaching and research and creates a more just community.
Our union has a long tradition of member-led activism that has improved not only the daily lives of academic student employees (ASEs) but also the lives of every individual affected by our higher education system. These efforts are far from over. The state’s broken, regressive tax system (i.e. no income tax, multiple unchecked tax giveaways) continues to foster a climate of austerity, where budget cuts to core state programs, regressive measures like tuition/fee increases, class size increases, and wage depression are becoming normalized. In light of the State Supreme Court’s McCleary Decisions, which direct the state to make up the K-12 $2 billion education gap, the state has directed UW and other state agencies to model 15% budget cuts for the coming biennium. As an organized workforce we have more power to confront these challenges than we would as individuals, and this power increases exponentially if we actively work with other populations facing similar challenges.
We welcome the growing nationwide trend to strengthen the labor movement by mobilizing for the common good through our unions. As a stronger international labor movement will help slow the dramatic rise in income inequality, so too can we work in coalition with students, faculty, staff and community groups to transform our higher education system into one that: a) Raises standards of living for all workers – particularly those in contingent and low-wage positions – to maintain excellence in teaching, research and service; b) Includes, respects and promotes historically underrepresented communities; c) Becomes affordable and accessible for all.