Local 4121 Calls to Action
Last chance for Academic Student Employees to sign on to Initial Bargaining Demands
Through the bargaining survey, area meetings, organizing committees, and 1-1 conversations, ASEs made it clear what we want to see changed and where we want to focus our energy during bargaining. A high percentage of ASEs signing on to these demands communicates to UW Admin that they need to take our negotiations seriously. Final deadline to sign on is Friday January 19th.
Postdocs and Research Scientists, make sure ASE friends and colleagues have signed on!
UW hasn’t reimbursed visa fees yet; sign this letter
All Postdocs who paid J1 or OPT-I visa fees, please submit your receipts for reimbursement. The Postdoc collective bargaining agreement clearly states that these fees shall be reimbursed; to date, UW has provided no visa fee reimbursements. Members are meeting with UW management on Wednesday, January 24th to ensure they honor the contract.
All members (Postdocs, RSEs, and ASEs) are encouraged to add your name to this letter to help ensure our colleagues secure their reimbursements. After you’ve signed, please share this information with any postdocs that you know.
Local 4121 Announcements
Local 4121 represented at Region 6 Political Action Conference
UAW 4121 members with UAW President Shawn Fain, UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller, and members of other WA academic locals.
Over the weekend at the UAW Region 6 Political Action Conference members gathered to reflect on the past year and set collective regional priorities for 2024. UAW 4121 is part of UAW Region 6 which includes union locals in WA, AK, OR, NV, CA & AZ. Through a combination of political education, workshops, and collaborative strategizing, 4121 members and fellow academic, automotive, casino UAW members discussed how we can increase member participation and build leverage to win: advancing our organizing goals for new locals, legislative priorities, creating concrete plans to address institutional greed, advance climate and social justice in our communities, and more in the coming year. Upcoming conferences are advertised in the Region 6 newsletter that all UAW 4121 members automatically receive.
Strike Assistance Fund Tax Documents
All RSEs and Postdocs that received a Strike Assistance payment through the UAW Strike Portal as part of the Postdoc/RSE strike can access tax information via Portal in the next 1 – 2 weeks (using the login information set up during the strike). If you don’t remember your login info, or need help accessing the Portal, please contact UAW International at: 313-926-5406 or UAWStrikeAssistance@uaw.net. Note: This only applies to payments distributed through the UAW Strike Portal – not any paper checks received from the Hardship Fund.
Research Scientists – Annual Attendance Incentive Program
Every January, RSEs with a Sick Time Off balance of greater than 480 hours can cash out (25% value) a portion of those hours. The ISC Annual Attendance Incentive Program page has the information on eligibility and how to initiate the process.
Local 4121 Meetings, Events, Trainings
January Membership Meeting Recap
Here are the highlights from our monthly membership meeting that took place on January 11th:
- The election committee is now fully staffed! A big thank you to Eli, Weitse, Tracy, Lucas, and Rob for supporting this critical work.
- We discussed how the Solidarity & Mobilization Working Group (SMWG) can further the labor movement through UAW and beyond. Some ideas include: direct action training, building out infrastructure to strengthen collective capacity, and coordinating regionally and nationally.
Bargaining 101
Members of the ASE Bargaining Committee will be hosting one hour Bargaining 101 sessions in January! If you’re looking for a place to find out more and ask questions, RSVP to attend the next session on Jan 26th at 3pm!
Organizing 101 Training
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 January 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 January and February.
Beyond UW
In higher ed, here are the updates from this week:
- WSU CASE (Coalition of Academic Student Employees), have a Tentative Agreement on their first contract after only hours on the picket lines. The win shows how collective action gets us more rights and more power. A big congratulations on the historic win!
Fur-One-Two-One Pet of the Week
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| This is Kylee. Kylee celebrated her seventh birthday last week (1/13)! She likes to sleep and has no detectable hunting instinct. She belongs to Luci, postdoc organizer from the mechanical engineering department and financial secretary!
(If you’d like to submit your pet to be featured, please email comms@uaw4121.org) |