Protestors chant “Who’s house? Our house!” as they wait to present their letter to the office of President Ana Mari Cauce.
Members from the newly formed UW Postdocs United (UWPU), the union representing postdocs, gathered in the office of UW President Ana Mari Cauce on Nov. 16 to present a letter demanding that the administration increase their wages and end negotiations.
UWPU’s press release urged that the university “Immediately agree to our proposal to proceed with all regular pay increases for Postdocs, and make every effort –– including scheduling sufficient bargaining dates, making reasonable proposals, and responding in a timely fashion –– to conclude negotiations quickly.”
Cauce was not present. Margaret Shepherd, chief strategy officer for the Office of the President, addressed the crowd. Shepherd thanked the crowd for participating in the bargaining session that happened Nov. 15, and for their proposals. She assured them that she would deliver their letters to Cauce personally.
“Justice delayed is justice denied!” Brian Weitzner, a UW postdoc and an elected member of the bargaining committee for UWPU, said. “We need a fair contract, and we need it now.”
The UW Postdocs presented this letter to the office of President Ana Mari Cauce.
Weitzner stood on top of a bench in the lobby of Johnson Hall as he gave the first speech of the rally before the crowd marched and chanted their way to Cauce’s office. The postdocs were joined by graduate students in bright blue and gold UAW 4121 beanies who were there in solidarity.
Michelle Tigchelaar, a research associate at the UW and a leader of UWPU, echoed Weitzner: “We need to move faster on our contract and she needs to stop denying people pay raises.”
Last October, postdocs voted 90 to 10 in favor of addressing their issues through collective bargaining, Weitzner said. Although the university claims to be making efforts to move through the bargaining process as quickly as possible, there have only been six official bargaining meetings in six months, according to Weitzner.
Issues that postdocs are aiming to address include the affordability of child care, the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in their work environments, health insurance, and wage freezes according to the claims of several UWPU leaders’ statements, including Weitzner and Tigchelaar.
“People are frustrated, and as a graduate student here I can say that during our own contract negotiations the administration was consistently condescending, speaking down to us, referring to us as children –– even though some of us have children of our own,” Thomas Walker, a graduate student who rallied in support of the postdocs, said. Walker was explaining why he supported the postdocs efforts.
Jessica Arbour, a postdoc in biology, lost her UW health insurance after receiving a prestigious fellowship which became more than 50 percent of her income, disqualifying her from her previous UW insurance plan.
“My deductible is literally 30 times what it was under my UW employer plan. Because of this, I’ve had to make decisions for my health not based on the best advice of my doctors but based on what I could afford,” Arbour said.
UW Postdocs United and UAW Local 4121 protesters march up the staircase of Gerberding Hall as they make their way to the office of President Ana Mari Cauce in November 2018.
Currently, the university is considering the proposals given by UWPU and is considering the proposed definitions of terms such as the definition of postdocs.
“The definition of a postdoc is not this critical thing that we need to have perfectly, fully resolved before we can respond to anything in the contract,” Weitzner said.
“We believe that there is bargaining and definition work to happen in parallel and we discussed this morning where some of that can occur,” Shepherd said. “The definition issue is very important to us … We are committed to getting things done as quickly as possible.”
Until an agreement is made between the UW and the UAW 4121, chairs, faculty, and administrators have been advised to respect the “status quo” as bargaining continues.
This status quo provision means that no wage increases to any employee under the “status quo” provision should be promised or entered for approval unless Academic Personnel has already reviewed and approved it. Someone in the crowd shouted, “What about wage denials?” to which Shepherd responded.
Shepherd stated that the university takes the status quo provision seriously, and will continue to do so in response.
In support of UWPU’s efforts to resolve these issues a letter signed by leaders of seven other unions were sent to Cauce urging the administration to stop its practice of “union avoidance.”
The UW Postdocs, along with the support of UAW Local 4121, occupied the lobby of President Cauce’s office in Gerberding Hall before presenting a letter to her secretary.
Seattle Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda and Nicole Grant, executive secretary-treasurer of the M. L. King County Labor Council, spoke to the rally participants on the steps of Gerberding Hall after the letters were delivered.
“Our future is in your hands as postdocs,” Mosqueda said. “And you are the ones who are teaching the future generation how to stand up, how to fight for our rights, how to fight for social justice.”
Mosqueda praised the postdocs vote to unionize with 60 percent turnout. She also said that she hopes the next time she joins them they will be celebrating an approved contract.
Reach reporter Midori Blanchard at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @MidoriNileah
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