Bargaining
On Monday we will hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. in Sieg Hall (room tbd) to make our final preparations for a one-day strike on Tuesday May 15 in the event that we are not able to reach agreement in bargaining tomorrow. Although we are not optimistic that the UW Administration will make significant movement, we will ask their bargaining committee to make any final proposals to us by 5:00 p.m. We will then collectively evaluate their proposals during our 5:30 meeting, and as necessary post the University’s proposals and our bargaining committee’s recommendations on our web page (uaw4121.org), and hold an online straw poll from 6-8:00 p.m. Otherwise the focus of the meeting with be to discuss the plan of action for Tuesday.
Strike Preparation Tuesday May 15th
To be prepared, it’s critical to please sign up for a picket shift now! Shifts begin at 5am, 9am and 12pm at the 4 major entrances to campus. Most departments/hiring units have adopted a picket site: if you’re not sure which one is yours, please contact your steward or email uaw4121@uaw4121.org. You can find more information about the current contract proposals on the table, strike plans, and more on the website.
Faculty Conversations
We have also been hearing from a number of people that their faculty have communicated they are not allowed to discuss anything about bargaining with students. While it is true that faculty cannot directly negotiate with individual ASEs, they are not prohibited from having and expressing opinions. Our read is that upper administration doesn’t want people talking about our bargaining process because it will lead to questions they can’t answer, like why academic student employees have to pay nearly $1000 in fees and why we aren’t getting a fair pay raise. We encourage everyone to talk about what’s going on. If you ever feel pressured by faculty or admin, please contact us immediately at uaw4121@uaw4121.org.
In solidarity,
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