Local 4121 Announcements
To kick off our next round of negotiations with power, join fellow members TOMORROW (February 8th) at the Membership-a-Palooza: Bargaining Power Blitz between 1–5pm (priority shift 1pm)! We’ll gather at Drumheller Fountain & form groups to make sure each and every one of our coworkers sign up for membership to maximize our power at the bargaining table.
Fill out this RSVP form & bring as many people from your department to show UW Admin just how many of us are united in demanding a fair contract. Questions or want to get involved? Reach out to ase-bargaining-committee@
Our monthly membership meetings are the 2nd Thursday of the month at 5pm. Our next meeting is TOMORROW, Thursday, February 8th at 5pm on Zoom. RSVP here to receive the link for our Membership Meeting! The proposed agenda is as follows:
- Approve agenda
- Approve minutes and board actions
- Review and approve monthly financial report (past month) and for 2023
- 2024 budget
- Elections Committee announcements
- Conference updates (National CAP)
- Working group updates (political, solidarity and mobilization)
- Organizing and bargaining updates
- Adjourn
Postdocs, enroll now in the UAW 4121 Caregiver Fund
As part of our Postdoc collective bargaining agreement, we have a caregiver support fund to provide aid to Postdoc caregivers. The enrollment period for this fund ends on March 29th. Please review the enrollment eligibility and enroll to receive funds here by that deadline. If you’ve enrolled in the past, no further action is needed unless you would like to make changes. If you have any questions, you can always email the Family Friendly Working Group at familyfriendly@uaw4121.org.
Thanks to our collective action during bargaining earlier this year, we won a significant increase to the caregiver fund in our new contract, up to $75,000 for 2023 and 2024. If you’d like to get more involved with the Family Friendly workgroup and help improve this fund, please email the Family Friendly Working Group at familyfriendly@uaw4121.org.
Please submit responses by March 29th, 2024. You will hear back from the Family Friendly workgroup by April 1st, 2024.
Slack
Reminder that we have a Slack workspace for all 4121 members! You can join by filling out this form.
Contract Corner
The Contract Enforcement Working Group (CEWG) is a collaborative member-driven workgroup that enforces our hard-won contracts (ASEs, Postdocs, and RSEs). In January, CEWG was contacted about 15 potential contract violations and hosted Contract Enforcement Trainings 1.0 and 2.0. Members participating in these trainings strategized ways to use the grievance process as a key way to build power to change our working conditions alongside developing departmental campaigns and direct actions.
Key insights from this month include:
- Misclassification– CEWG heard from several members who have been misclassified at a lower pay scale or a non-union position. Please make sure that you are paid at the rate you are eligible for (Article 15 for ASEs, Article 25 for PDs, and Article 4 for RSEs). Additionally, if you know a coworker whose job description resembles the positions covered by our contracts, but is misclassified as a non-union position, get them in touch with us.
- Weingarten rights— These rights guarantee that you have the right to have a union representative present in any discussion that could lead to you being disciplined, terminated, or in any way affect your working conditions. If you are ever requested to attend a meeting which you believe could lead to any of those changes, reach out to your department steward and CEWG.
Participation in this working group is open to all members. If you are interested, or think that something in your department may constitute a contract violation, please contact contractenforcement@uaw4121.
Local 4121 Meetings, Trainings, and Working Group Updates
Our union is made up of members and it is only through organizing our colleagues that we can build a strong community of colleagues to win and enforce strong contracts. Increasing our organizing power is critical since ASEs are back at the bargaining table in the beginning of 2024.If you are someone who talks with your colleagues about department or university happenings, then good news, you are already doing the work of organizing! Please join an upcoming Organizing 101 training in February or March to enhance your skills or learn how to get started. RSVP HERE to attend a training with colleagues from across the ASE, Postdoc, and RSE units! There are several sessions scheduled for this quarter.
Solidarity in Action
In a display of international solidarity, members of UAW 4121, alongside allies including Seattle DSA and IfNotNow, participated in a peaceful sit-in at Congressman Adam Smith’s office last Friday. Our collective voice was clear: we demanded support for a ceasefire in Gaza (see previous statement from our Local and UAW International) and an endorsement of H.Res.786. Tell Representative Adam Smith to sign on to the ceasefire bill by signing the petition here.In joining our siblings across Region 6 and beyond in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, we uphold the UAW’s legacy of fighting for social, racial, and economic justice and building power towards a just and sustainable future for all.
UAW 4121 members dripped out in UAW swag at a rally outside of Congressman Adam Smith’s Renton office to call for a ceasefire.
In January, members from the Solidarity and Mobilization working group (SMWG) attended a teach-in led by the Seattle chapter of Resist US Led War on the role of US militarism around the world and on our campus. These topics are crucial for our local’s members to have informed discussions as the UAW prepares for a divestment and just transition away from companies that profit from violence and towards peaceful jobs. These actions are a continuation of a long history of antiwar labor activism fighting for justice for all workers from Vietnam to Gaza.To get involved in organizing around these issues, reach out to the SMWG at solidarity@uaw4121.org or visit the #solid-mobil-wg slack channel.
Beyond UW
We are part of a movement in higher ed, here are the updates from this past week:
- NLRB orders that union elections may happen for Dartmouth men’s basketball team
- University of New Hampshire graduate students filed to hold union elections
- Student dining workers voted to organize at Smith College
Fur-One-Two-One Pet of the Week
Meet Bel, Asmo, Luci, and Bub! This dynamic quartet of dumpy green tree frogs are also lovingly known as “The Slime Puppies” by their owner, RSE Immunology Steward and member of the Comms WG, Kathleen Voss. When they aren’t sleeping in an adorable stack, the frogs spend their evenings flinging themselves about with wild abandon and trying to eat anything that moves (including fingers!).
If you’d like to submit your pet to be featured, please email comms@uaw4121.org.