Dear UAW Member,
Take Action on Title IX
As you may know, the U.S. Department of Education has proposed changes to Title IX that would be a huge step backwards in the fight against sexual harassment in higher ed. Among other changes, they have proposed:
- Massively narrowing the definition of sexual harassment institutions must take action on to include only the most extreme cases;
- Allow schools to adopt higher standards of proof, lowering the likelihood that an accusation could be sustained;
- Allowing people accused of harassment to cross-examine their accuser, which can be hugely re-traumatizing for victims of harassment and assault.
Both our ASE and Postdoc units are coordinating public comments to voice our union’s strong opposition to these changes. In addition, there are a number of things you can do now and in the upcoming weeks to take action:
- Submit your own public comments to the Department of Education.
- Attend a Q&A forum hosted by the UW Title IX Office next week. The comments and attendance at these fora will strongly inform UW’s response, so it’s critical that as many people as possible turn out and impress that this is a high priority for our members.
- In addition to attending a forum, submit comments to UW.
- If you haven’t already, take ten minutes now to fill out the equity survey to help build our collective power on issues of equity here at UW.
- Attend the membership meeting, where we will have a longer organizing conversation about how members can take collective action on this issue. You are also encouraged to strengthen our Local’s comments by adding your thoughts to this short form.
Membership Meeting Thursday 1/10
The first membership meeting of winter quarter is Thursday (1/10), 5:30pm – 7pm @ Smith 304. You can find the agenda here. All members in good standing are encouraged to attend, and new members may sign up to join the union at the meeting. As always children are welcome!
Get Involved
Local 4121 committees and working groups are continuing to meet to discuss, develop campus and community action plans, and provide support in areas important to student workers. These groups provide a great way for members to get involved, and no prior experience is necessary! Check out the Local Union calendar for upcoming meetings, and as always feel free to reach out to current work group members with any questions, suggestions, or to find out more:
In solidarity,
Douglas Avella-Castro
Dianne Baumann
Andrea Canini
Monica Cortes Viharo
Meg Drouhard
Dan Hart
Katya Kolesova
Dylan Mayer
Mandy McCourt
Kristin McCowan
Emily Myers
Maria Nelson
Jacob O’Connor
David Parsons
Shua Sanchez
Maddie Smith
Sam Sumpter
Judy Twedt
Jon Witt
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