WPEA is currently undergoing a phone upgrade at the main headquarters.  Cell phones for your staff representatives will not be affected during this time, if you need to reach your representative directly please visit: www.wpea.org/contact-us.  Once the upgrade is complete, our voice options will have changed, allowing more options and for WPEA to better serve our members. 

https://www.thestand.org/2023/06/uw-postdocs-researchers-are-on-strike/

​Here’s how to support UW strikers — starting with rally today at noon

SEATTLE (June 7, 2023) — About 2,400 Postdoctoral Researchers and Research Scientists/Engineers (RSEs) at the University of Washington represented by UAW Local 4121 are on strike today after not reaching agreement with UW administration in bargaining. Picket lines were set up at 5 a.m. Hundreds will gather today for a strike kickoff rally at noon on Red Square.
TAKE A STAND — All union members and supporters are urged to attend the strike kickoff rally at noon at the UW Seattle campus’s Red Square, 4063 Spokane Lane. In addition, check out the strike linktree where you’ll find information about how to contribute to the strike hardship fund, picket shift signups, solidarity petitions and letters, and more. Get the latest updates via Twitter @UAW4121.


“We love our research but UW left us no choice. We will be striking until we get a fair contract,” said Rebecca Bluett, Postdoctoral Scholar at UW. “Our priority has always been ensuring that science at UW is sustainable and inclusive, and that means fair pay so we can all afford rent, take care of our families, and stay in the careers we love.”
“Today Postdocs, Researchers, members of the UW community, and community at large are standing together to hold the UW administration accountable,” said Levin Kim, President of UAW 4121, the union of Postdocs, RSEs and Academic Student Employees at UW. “Through our collective action, we hope to compel them to bargain in good faith, so we can finally address the urgent issues we face as researchers committed to our careers in science and research.”
Picket locations are:

• NE 45th St & Memorial Way NE (SW corner)
• 15th Ave NE & W Stevens Way NE (NE corner)
• Montlake Triangle: NE Pacific St & Montlake Blvd NE
• SLU: Mercer St (between 8th and 9th Ave N)

At issue still for RSEs are three core demands: support for an inclusive workforce—including the same harassment prevention program for RSEs that is available for Postdocs and student employees, support for childcare, and fair compensation. For Postdocs, the biggest sticking point is that UW is refusing to pay Postdocs a living wage in line with state minimum wage standards.
The impacts of the strike will be felt across the university system and beyond. There are 6,000 Academic Student Employees, graduate students who work as Research and Teaching Assistants at UW, who have been pledging to respect the picket lines. The MLK Labor sanctioned the strike, as did the Joint Council for Teamsters 28. Collectively these labor organizations represent more than 100,000 workers in King County, who will be receiving information about the strike and be urged to not cross the picket line.
University of Washington Postdocs and RSEs rally for a fair contract on April 24.
Research Scientists/Engineers (RSEs) and Postdocs perform a wide range of critical research, from developing new therapies to fight disease, designing policy to tackle climate change, advancing new technologies that will shape the future of research, and much more. Postdocs and RSEs are part of UAW 4121, the union of just shy of 1,500 staff researchers, 900 Postdocs, and over 6,000 Academic Student Employees at UW.
Each unit has been in bargaining with the UW administration for months—Postdocs are negotiating a successor agreement and these are initial contract negotiations for RSEs, who won their union one year ago on June 10.

CCAHE, the Clark College faculty union, and the WPEA, the Clark College staff union, is shouting out a loud and proud THANK YOU to our SWWCLC brothers and sisters for your help staving off cuts to three of our essential Clark employees.   
Yes, the cuts to Clark College employees from the CCAHE and the WPEA bargaining units are off the table! We attribute these wins to multiple actions that were taken by the faculty and staff unions which included a great deal of help from our SWWCLC affiliates - Thank you! 
Another variable was the work we did in Olympia lobbying for our state COLA to be fully funded. Thank you to all those who wrote emails to legislators and testified and rallied in Olympia to fully fund our state's community and technical colleges. 
Of course, Clark management in typical fashion argues that our efforts were an overreaction and that we should have waited for final decisions. 
And of course, this is nonsense. We fight when we see them coming, not after our members have been harmed. 
We cannot thank you enough, SWWCLC. Your support was and continues to be invaluable. You helped save jobs and critical services for our students, many of whom are first generation and/or from historically marginalized communities. 

https://www.swwaclc.org/index.cfm?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=903814 ​

​The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is very excited to invite you to join us at the WSLC’s 2023 Convention beginning on July 18 - July 20. Please submit your registration by June 13th by completing the form on our website at the button below.  Please include your shirt size and if you wish to be a Delegate or Alternate. WPEA currently has seven Delegate and seven Alternate positions.

Under the theme “Stronger Jobs, Better Communities,” the 2023 Convention will explore how unions can leverage today’s surge in labor interest and popularity to grow their membership, build worker power, and improve our communities. Speakers and workshops will cover a variety of topics that will be of interest to union leaders, staffers, and rank-and-file members.

I will share with you that I have attended this conference as a member, and as WPEA staff, and I have found it to be a real highlight to my involvement in the labor movement. The convention brings all your WSLC labor siblings together in one place and offers lots of great information, opportunities to meet others, and wonderful educational sessions. I encourage all to consider volunteering. We are allotted a limited number, so please respond promptly to ensure your spot.

Dana Spain
WPEA President

As June 7 strike looms, University of Washington administration urged to reach contract with Postdocs, RSEs
SEATTLE (June 1, 2023) — April Sims, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, released the following statement today regarding the looming June 7 strike date for Postdocs and Research Scientists/Engineers at the University of Washington. Postdocs’ collective bargaining agreement expired on Jan. 31, 2023. RSEs joined together in a union in June 2022 and have been in negotiations for their first contract since August 2022.
“As the largest public employer in the state, the University of Washington sets an example of what it means to act in the public good. It’s time for UW to stop looking for work-arounds and pay people fairly. The state of Washington has made a clear policy choice that workers should be paid a living wage because wages have fallen way behind for too many. The University of Washington doesn’t get a pass: that would set a dangerous precedent for every employer in the state. I stand with Postdoctoral Scholars and Research Scientists/Engineers in their fight for a living wage, and think this fight affects all workers in Washington.”
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is the largest union organization in Washington state, representing more than 500,000 rank-and-file members in some 600 union locals and organizations. Learn more at wslc.org.
Short URL: https://www.thestand.org/?p=117345