In August 2015, the Seattle City Council passed Mayor Ed Murray’s proposal requiring “all city-controlled and privately operated places of public accommodation to designate … single-stall restrooms as all-gender facilities.” The deadline to comply with the ordinance was March 9.
Though many single-stall bathrooms at the UW have been designated as all-gender bathrooms, many remain labeled as either men or women’s.
Academic student employees in UAW Local 4121’s Trans Equity Working Group have demanded the UW comply with the mayor’s ordinance, citing an article in their collective bargaining agreement that guarantees reasonable access to all-gender restrooms.
“It’s especially frustrating because this would be so simple to fix,” said Sam Sumpter, a member of the Trans Equity Working Group. “It’s just a sign change. That’s all it would take.”
The Trans Equity Working Group also filed a grievance in November asking that one of two adjacent women’s restrooms in Condon Hall be changed to an all-gender restroom.
On March 10, more than 70 academic student employees and supporters participated in a demonstration to demand restroom accessibility.
At the beginning of the rally, trans activist and Washington state legislature candidate Danni Askini said restroom accessibility is an important part of workplace safety.
“Ninety percent of trans people experience some form of discrimination in their workplace,” Askini said. “Not having a bathroom in a building where you can go and feel safe to do what your body requires you to do … that is a form of discrimination.”
Cecil Whitney, a member of the Trans Equity Working Group, changed the sign on one of the women’s restrooms in Condon Hall to an all-gender sign. The group then timed the walk from Condon Hall to the Social Work Building, the location of the nearest all-gender bathroom. It took six minutes and 43 seconds.
Following the walk, the group posted a list of demands on the door of Gerberding Hall. The demands included compliance with the city ordinance, an improved name change system for student employees, and more inclusive health care.
Sally Clark, director of regional and community relations at the UW, said the Capital Projects office is currently developing a map of all single-stall restrooms on campus that still need to be converted.
Although some groups within the administration want to combine the sign changes with other projects, such as accessibility for the disabled and plumbing repairs, Clark said she would prioritize the sign changes.
A former member of Seattle City Council, Clark proposed the ordinance along with the city’s LGBT Commission. She said it is debatable whether the UW is considered one of the public spaces required to comply with the ordinance, and that the funding of the project was also a concern.
“Signs are not terribly expensive, but if you add them all up, then it becomes expensive,” Clark said. “But it’s the right thing to do, so I think the university needs to figure out how to find the money.”
Jen Self, director of the Q Center, has been working on improving all-gender restroom accessibility at the UW since 2005. She said the university should establish a uniform policy that all buildings are required to follow. The lack of communication between the many groups working to resolve this issue has also been a challenge.
“Because it’s so decentralized, and there hasn’t been an edict from on high, there’s no university policy about this yet,” Self said. “One or two voices can stop something because of the lack of a policy.”
Self had hoped all single-stall restrooms would be converted to all-gender bathrooms during spring quarter.
Clark expected a map of the remaining single-stall restrooms to be delivered to her a week ago. In an email Monday, she said the map would be delivered this week and that she hoped the project would be done by the end of summer.
The Trans Equity Working Group and its supporters argue the UW has used “delay tactics” to avoid responding to the concerns of transgender students and employees.
“We don’t just want promises,” group member Adrian Kane said. “We want action, we want timelines, we want to see changes happen.”
Reach reporter Katie Anastas at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @KatieAnastas
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