Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Dear Colleague,
This Wednesday, November 13th at 4pm in LSB 201, we are hosting a steward training on organizing and expanding engagement throughout the UW community. Afterwards at 5pm, we will go to a nearby restaurant for food and drinks to socialize. We will have a smaller second orientation Wednesday, November 20th at 4:30pm in MolES 115, as well. While these trainings are meant for new stewards, anyone interested in organizing, bargaining and contract enforcement is welcome. Please RSVP by emailing uaw4121@uaw4121.org.
This Thursday, November 14th at 4pm, our regular monthly membership meeting will take place (the second Thursday every month, location TBD). At last month’s membership meeting, we discussed our upcoming contract campaigns (along with student workers who are also part of our union), and strengthening our mutual power during these rapidly approaching negotiations.
Additionally, our Family Friendly and Gender Equity workgroup will be convening for the third time this quarter. To schedule the most convenient time and place, please complete this When2Meet. We will discuss our childcare subsidy eligibility criteria and other parental benefits to negotiate amongst several other agenda items. If you can’t attend this meeting, the steward trainings or the membership meeting but want to learn more, please email uaw4121@uaw4121.org and we can schedule a time to meet.
As we prepare for bargaining at UW, the almost 5,000 Academic Researchers at the University of California have reached a tentative agreement on the first-ever Academic Researcher (AR) collective bargaining agreement. Voting for ARs is taking place until Friday, November 8th. Under the proposed contract, AR salaries will increase by an average of 6% per year, in contrast to AR salary scale increases of only an average of 1.7% over the last 10 years. Together, we are building a nationwide movement of academic workers to build equity in higher education.
Lastly, following our filing a grievance this summer, the free UPASS appears to have has been fully implemented for all Postdocs. To resolve outstanding UPASS charges that have not been refunded, email laborrel@uw.edu stating that you are eligible for the fully subsidized UPASS and that you haven’t been reimbursed. Labor Relations should then contact you with the status of the refund and provide further instructions. Please copy us via uaw4121@uaw4121.org on any correspondence, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
In solidarity,
The UW Postdocs United / UAW 4121 Bargaining Committee:
Tina Angerer, Bioengineering
Leandro Casiraghi, Biology
Matthew Crane, Chemistry
Ivan Cruz, Biological Structure
Marina Dütsch, Earth and Space Sciences
Max Friedfeld, Chemistry
Hannah Horowitz, Atmospheric Sciences
Ajay Jajodia, Medical Genetics
Andrew Jenkins, Chemistry
Jiae Lee, Biochemistry
Michael Mack, Chemistry
Kim Meier, Psychology
Cristi Proistosescu, Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean
Michael Taylor, Bioengineering
Jian Wang, Chemistry