Leadership elections | Membership meeting Nov 9th | & more

Nov 3, 2023 | Membership Updates

Local 4121 Announcements

Upcoming 4121 Elections
Our Local, UAW 4121, will hold a university-wide election to fill vacant leadership positions this quarter. Nominations for vacant Steward and Joint Council positions in UAW 4121 opened on Monday, October 30th and will close November 9th. If you are interested in a leadership position, take a look at the current list of vacant positions and access the nomination form here.

Stewards are the main points of contact for members in a given department, and the steward network forms the backbone of our union’s cross-departmental structure and community. For information about what these roles entail, check out the election announcement email you received Monday.

All members in good standing are automatically nominated for open positions in their department. To run for the position, you simply have to accept your automatic nomination. For information about what these roles entail, check out the UAW 4121 Steward’s Toolkit. If you have questions, email elections@uaw4121.org

Academic Student Employees – Add your voice – the ASE 2024 Contract Bargaining Survey open until 11/15
In early 2024, ASEs will begin negotiating a new contract with the University of Washington. Building a strong, representative bargaining agenda takes all ASEs coming together throughout the year to determine our collective priorities on issues including wages, fee waivers, career development, anti-discrimination, and more. Please take 5 minutes to communicate your priorities today!

November Monthly Membership Meeting
Our next membership meeting is Thursday, November 9th at 5pm on Zoom. RSVP here for the November Membership Meeting. The proposed agenda is as follows:

  • Approve Agenda
  • Approve Minutes
  • Working Group updates
  • Organizing updates & action items
    • ASE Bargaining & Membership Drive
    • RSE & PD Membership Drives
  • Adjourn

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, November 8th.

November Election Endorsements
City and county elections are coming up on November 7th! All members should have received an email with a full list of our local’s endorsements.
Alt text: UAW 4121 us fighting for a better Seattle Because housing, transit, wages, public services. policing, and education affect us all! Seattle City Council: Ron Davis (D4) | Alex Hudson (D3) | ChrisTiana ObeySumner (D5) | Maren Costa (D1) | Tammy Morales (D2) | Andrew Lewis (D7) | Yes on Proposition 1 (renew Housing Levy), King County Council: Girmay Zahilay (D2) | Sarah Reyneveld (D4) | Teresa Mosqueda (D8), Renton: Raise the Wage Renton (Ballot Initiative), not registered to vote? Register online before October 30th! Do you live outside King County? Check out our full endorsements at uawendorsements.org
Research Scientists only, Open Enrollment – ATTENTION Current Kaiser Subscribers 
UW Open Enrollment is from November 1 – 30th. This is the once-a-year opportunity to make changes to your health plan or enroll in a Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) or the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). See the ISC page on Open Enrollment for more information on the options and process. Current Kaiser subscribers should pay close attention to the significant increases in monthly premiums for next year. 

Upcoming Local 4121 Meetings, Events, Trainings

Organizing 101
Our union is made up of members and it is only through member participation that we can build a strong community of colleagues.

Every month over the fall quarter, we will have Organizing 101 trainings, which will cover the basics of effectively connecting with our colleagues to build power for structural changes. This next training will be Monday, 11/13 from noon-1pm on Zoom.

RSVP HERE to attend a training with colleagues from across the ASE, Postdoc, and RSE units!

Beyond UW

All members in good standing can submit events/actions by emailing comms@uaw4121.org. Suggested content should be consistent with Local 4121’s core principles.

UAW Big 3 Autoworkers (GM, Stellantis, Ford) have all won historic gains in their Tentative Agreements, including wage increases of 25% or more through the life of the contract, improvements to job security and climate justice, and more. Over the last couple of months, 4121 members have been supporting our autoworker siblings at picket lines along the West Coast, coordinating dealership canvasses, and more – solidarity gets the goods!

Over the coming weeks, members at Big 3 Locals (including Locals 230, 492, 2162, and 6645 in Region 6) will review, discuss, and vote on the details of the respective agreements. For more info, check out the bargaining pages for each company: Ford, Stellantis, GM, as well as the Region 6 Big 3 Strike Center.

And in higher ed sector, some big updates this week: