Monday, August 5, 2019
Dear Colleague,
Wage Implementation
On August 1st, the Wages article of our new contract went into effect. The establishment of a transparent, guaranteed scale (with increases!) is an exciting change that our years of mobilization made possible for the first time at UW. This Article provides that:
- All Postdoc salaries will now be calculated according to an experience based minimum pay scale, and that subsequent annual salary increases will be guaranteed.
- Individuals paid above the minimum scale are provided a guaranteed 2% increase upon the anniversary date of their hire.
Note that, while the wage increase is effective as of August 1st, the change will not show up on our paychecks for another month (no later than September 25) due to the lag in updating the UW payroll system. Additionally, there will be a one-time 2% wage increase for Senior Fellows affected by the wage freeze effective September 1st.
We’ve put together a FAQ about the implementation of the Wages article, so please take a look if you’re not sure how this will affect you and let us know if you have any questions.
U-PASS update
After the hard work of many Postdocs following the filing of our first grievance under the new contract, the UW administration will implement the fully subsidized U-PASS program on or before August 10th. This means that Postdocs enrolled in U-PASS payroll deduction will be refunded for deductions made after July 1 U-PASSes. We are also working with the administration to provide refunds for Postdocs who purchased ORCA cards and made other transportation purchases when their U-PASS was denied.
Membership
The most important step you can take to ensure smooth contract implementation and strong enforcement on issues like the U-PASS and wages is to build support by signing up to become a member.
You can ask questions about membership and pick up or drop off a membership form with one of your Postdoc colleagues (UAW 4121 sign) at Suzzallo Library Study Room 102 every day this week from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM. Stop by and say hi!
Other Ways to Get Involved
1. Apply for Training Specialist Position (Prevention of Sexual Harassment Program)! The position we negotiated with UW is still open. Feel free to contact us (uwpostdocsunited@gmail.com) if you’re interested or would like to discuss this exciting new program.
2. Join a working group! As a reminder, we currently have four active working groups serving critical roles: International Postdocs (pdinternational@uaw4121.org), Postdoc Parents (pdparenting@uaw4121.org), Healthcare (pdhealthcare@uaw4121.org), and Non-Discrimination and Harrassment (pdantidiscrimination@uaw4121.org). Get in touch using the respective emails if you would like to be involved!
WA State Primary Election is August 6
If you are a registered WA voter, we encourage you to return your mail-in ballot by August 6.
Did you know one of the candidates running for Seattle City Council is a UAW 4121 member? Emily Myers is an Academic Student Employee (PhD Candidate in Pharmacology), and she is running for Seattle City Council District 4. You can read more about her campaign, as well as a recent op-ed by the founding members of 500 Women Scientists about the escalating anti-science rhetoric here.
Our union endorses a number of candidates in this important primary race, and you can see all the endorsements here.
Sincerely,
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