Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Dear Colleague,
As of last night, our new (and first-ever) UW Postdoc Union contract has been ratified by a vote of 587 to 17, a 97% margin. 68% of all Postdocs voted to ratify the new contract! The contract is now in effect and will expire on January 31, 2021. You can read the full contract language here, a summary of the contract here, and a contract ratification FAQ here.
This is a huge victory for all Postdocs at the University of Washington and for the fight to win fair working conditions for academic employees across the country. We were able to accomplish this because of mass participation in all phases of our unionization campaign.
Postdocs will now have the opportunity to sign up for union membership and continue to build a strong voice to win equitable working conditions. Strong membership will especially be important given implementation of the new CBA and the possibility of negotiating again when the NIH salary guidelines change. In 2018 the NIH salary guidelines increased twice (first and second times), so we need to be prepared. Membership includes paying dues to support our efforts – financed independently – to continue to organize for additional gains. Information about dues is accessible here.
In addition, please attend the Local’s June membership meeting this Thursday, June 13 at 5:30 p.m. in HSB, E-216. On the agenda for this meeting is to first consider a proposal to change the Local’s bylaws to reflect our new Postdoc unit (including a governance structure).
We thank all of you for your incredible determination to win a fair first contract. We look forward to working together to build on our success in the future.
In solidarity,
The UW Postdocs United / UAW 4121 Bargaining Committee
Tina Angerer, Bioengineering
Pamela Baker, Biological Structure
Leandro Casiraghi, Biology
Matthew Crane, Chemistry
Ivan Cruz, Biological Structure
Marina Dütsch, Earth and Space Sciences
Max Friedfeld, Chemistry
Kelly Hines, Medicinal Chemistry
Hannah Horowitz, Atmospheric Sciences
Ajay Jajodia, Medical Genetics
Andrew Jenkins, Chemistry
Jiae Lee, Biochemistry
Michael Mack, Chemistry
Kim Meier, Psychology
Kelly Patton, Physics
Cristi Proistosescu, Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean
Abdul Basit Shaikh, Pharmaceutics
Michael Taylor, Bioengineering
Jian Wang, Chemistry
Alex White, Psychology
Huajun Xu, Chemistry