As you know, Congress is considering a tax plan that would treat tuition waivers as taxable income, which would increase the typical UW graduate employee’s taxes by about $5000 per year, a change that would completely undermine the affordability and accessibility of graduate school.

Tomorrow is a nationwide day of action to oppose this tax plan and the undue burden it would create for graduate students — and others — across the country. At UW, we will be holding a rally from noon-1pm on Red Square. Please plan to be there to help express a united message that we strongly oppose a tax on tuition waivers!

Also tomorrow, please participate in a social media campaign to demonstrate to our Congressional Delegation how this tax plan would impact you. Take a picture with a short message and share your story on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

For Twitter users, you can specifically target the Washington representatives who voted in favor of the tax plan: Dave Reichert (@davereichert), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (@cathymcmorris), Jaime Herrera Beutler (@HerreraBeutler), and Dan Newhouse (@RepNewhouse). Please also use the hashtags #UAW4121, #GradTaxWalkOut, #ReworktheReform, and #GOPtaxplan so that we can retweet and share!

You can print a template sign out here, or grab one tomorrow on Red Square. If you’d prefer, we can also post your photos directly from the Local’s social media accounts — just email them in to uaw4121@uaw4121.org.

In Solidarity,
Theresa Aliwarga
Douglas Avella-Castro
Dianne Baumann
Andrea Canini
Anthony Castanza
Monica Cortes Viharo
Kristen Garofali
Katya Kolesova
Dylan Mayer
Mandy McCourt
Kristin McCowan
Elizabeth Mills
David Parsons
Shua Sanchez
Maddie Smith
Sam Sumpter
Arash Tarkhan
Judy Twedt