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Membership Meeting Wednesday 11/10 at 5pmOur next membership meeting will be Wednesday 11/10 from 5-6:30pm, and will be conducted via Zoom. Please note that because Thursday 11/11 is a holiday, this month’s meeting is on Wednesday instead. To access the link and/or call-in number, please fill out this short form. The proposed agenda for the meeting is as follows:
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 Tuesday 11/9. All members in good standing are encouraged to attend, and anyone who is not yet a member can sign up here beforehand. West Coast Housing Justice CampaignAt this month’s membership meeting, we will take some time to move into breakout groups and discuss what is most important to us when it comes to questions of housing security and housing justice. We will use these discussions to inform how we structure our organizing in the West Coast Housing Justice Campaign, alongside UAW locals in the UC system (UAW 2865, UAW 5810, and UAW 4123). Some of the questions we’ll think through together include:
If you’re not able to join for these discussions, please feel free to fill in this survey instead by Monday, November 15. Be sure to also check out the Renters’ Toolkit, published earlier this year by the Housing Justice Workgroup for ASEs and Postdocs. Get Involved with the Kshama Solidarity Campaign!Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant has continuously fought with UAW 4121 members during her entire time in elected office, from spearheading the $15 NOW and Tax Amazon campaigns, to leading the charge for renter protections and rent control, and speaking at your Rally for a Fair Contract. Her commitment to building winning movements of working people is why the racist Recall and its Trump-supporting corporate backers are trying to remove her from office, distorting her unapologetic and peaceful support of the BLM movement as “riotous” and “illegal”. The right-wing Recall has intentionally delayed their election to Tuesday December 7th in the attempt to suppress voter turnout among working people, especially students, renters, people of color, and queer folks. Your participation is needed to overcome this despicable act of voter suppression, as part of an unprecedented movement to get out the vote!
Solidarity with UAW LocalsIt’s an exciting time to be a union member! We’re part of a growing labor movement across industries and across the country. In the UAW alone, there are now more than 80,000 academic workers, and 17,000 University of California student researchers are actively organizing to unionize. In the past month alone (#striketober) in various UAW locals, we’ve seen 10,000 workers at John Deere strike for a better contract, grad students at Harvard stage a three-day strike, and today student workers at Columbia began striking as they continue to fight for their first contract. This is all an incredible testament to the power of collective action and strong unions to enact systemic changes in our workplaces and beyond. As we’ve seen in our own bargaining processes last year, we are able to fight for (and make wins) on issues such as wages, healthcare, childcare support, and protections against discrimination and harassment when we come together through 1-1 organizing. The campaigns above are fighting on many of these same issues, which shows that the changes we’re fighting for don’t happen in a vacuum. When any union wins stronger rights and protections, it expands the range of possibilities for what acceptable workplaces look like and makes it harder for management to deny others those rights. Now and always, it is important to support each others’ fights so that we can come together to imagine and create a better world for us all. As union members, we can use collective action to address these power imbalances; there is no top-down method for making these changes! By coming together, we can win important changes even when we’re not in contract bargaining. To build power and be a part of this growing movement, it is important for us all to be involved in whatever ways we have capacity for. Check out this page for ways to get involved, come together, build power, and enact change. Get Your Ballot in for UAW ReferendumBallots are now out for the historic UAW-wide referendum, 1 Member 1 Vote (1M1V). Make your voice heard and fill yours out ASAP! It’s critical for every member to participate in this vote, and our ASE and Postdoc Organizing Committees are actively working to connect with as many 4121 members as possible. So once you’ve voted, please also take a second to let the Organizing Committees know you’ve sent in your ballot by filling out this form. If you haven’t received your ballot, you can request a replacement by emailing uawballot@merrimanriver.com or calling 855-433-8683. For more information — including why this important vote is happening and how to get more involved — check out this page on the website. Postdoc Childcare Fund Enrollment is Now OpenPostdoc caregivers: enrollment is now open for the Postdoc Childcare fund. Enroll today. The Postdoc Childcare Fund is now accepting responses for the second half of 2021. Our collective bargaining agreement provides for a collective caregiving fund of $45,000 in 2021 that is distributed semiannually. Funds will be distributed in December for Postdoc caregivers who worked at UW anytime from July to December 2021. If you are a Postdoc parent or caregiver, enroll today. Please reach out to the Family Friendly Workgroup (familyfriendly@uaw4121.org) with any questions or to get more involved. In Solidarity, Douglas Avella-Castro |
