Yesterday was the third bargaining session with UW management for our next Research Staff (RS) contract.

TLDR: We focused on increasing transparency of policies impacting all of us and ensuring we have the financial resources to enforce our rights and build power to win the priorities that matter to us.

Click the image below to watch Jessamy and Gabriel’s takeaway video and stay up-to-date on the latest bargaining updates on our bargaining webpage here.

Before you dive in, membership is the most direct way to win the priorities that matter to us. If you’re not a member yet, join today. Already in? Talk to your coworkers and ask them to join.

Join as a member today!

If you’ve been affected by the policies we’re covering or have ideas to improve them, reply to this email. Your voice is essential!

Now, grab your beverage of choice and read on

What Management Proposed Yesterday

Article	Our Take: What’s the tea?
12: Health Care Benefits	Our health coverage is negotiated with the state (not UW) through a coalition of unions. Management’s proposal just formally adds the results of this coalition bargaining to our contract. : This is what collective power looks like: we fought for a strong healthcare package, and now we’re on our way to making it permanent.
29: Reasonable Accommodation of Employees with Disabilities	Management revealed that over a year ago, UWHR Leave and Accommodations quietly took over RS accommodation requests from the Disability Services Office (DSO), even though the DSO still handles faculty requests. : Research staff were never notified of this change, despite our contract requiring it. This is exactly why we’re pushing updates to Article 1 (see below): we shouldn’t have to be at the bargaining table to learn about changes to our own workplace conditions.
35: Time Off and Leave	Management proposed updates to align this article with state law, which already supersedes our contract regardless. : Better late than never, but UW could have done this any time since the law changed. Why wait until bargaining?
32: Salary Overpayment Recovery	Management clarified policies around the use of vacation time for overpayment recovery. : No tea, just a fairly straightforward alignment with existing standards.

Our Proposals

Article	Quick Summary
1: Purpose and Intent	We updated this article to reaffirm the requirement that UW proactively communicate changes that affect RS (like layoffs and furloughs) before we have to find out at the bargaining table.
16: Inclement Weather and Suspended Operations	We proposed language giving us the option to take unpaid time off during inclement weather or suspended operations, so no one has to burn vacation or sick time they didn’t choose to use. This matters especially for newer employees who may not have accrued much leave yet.
30: Recognition of Work	We proposed language to ensure RS work is properly credited and cited, with grievance processes to address inaccurate attributions.
40: Union Security	We proposed enforceable timelines for UW to correct dues deduction errors. Since our contract was ratified, UW’s failures have cost our local over $100K in member dues – money we should be spending on contract enforcement and member support, not chasing down payroll mistakes.

What’s down the road in the next bargaining sessions? We plan to tackle professional development, workspace & materials, travel, PI eligibility, and our disability accommodations counter-proposal. Affected by any of these issues? Reply to this email!

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Gabriel Beuchat
Iván Cruz
Tess Grover
KeliAnne Hara-Hubbard
Evan Howard
Jessamy Johnson
Lucas O’Bryan
N. Shane Patrick
Gracy Shaw