UW Falls Behind 51% of Competitors
We’re walking out August 31.
As we struggle to make ends meet in the communities we serve in a state where expenses balloon and our wages stagnate, management across the state is trying to avoid fair compensation for our workers.
We won’t let them look away from our demands.
Our 2024 walkouts led to management miraculously finding money for compensation, a tangible difference from our actions. That’s why we’re walking out again, alongside union coalition partners and community supporters.
- UW Main Campus Walkout - RSVP Here
- UW Montlake Medical Center Walkout - RSVP Here
- UW South Lake Union Campus Walkout - RSVP Here
- Harborview Medical Center Walkout - RSVP Here
- UW Bothell Campus Walkout - RSVP Here
- UW Tacoma Campus - RSVP Here
What's a walkout? Why are we doing it? Learn more here.
Our bargaining session on Wednesday started off by discussing fair wages in the Puget Sound and the University’s budget, which management reminded us is larger than the budget of Seattle itself.
To no one’s surprise, UW’s own salary survey showed they are not meeting their own benchmark goal of having most jobs in the top 50th percentile of pay in our region.
That means that UW is paying employees worse than 51% of their competitors, while claiming they want to be the “employer of choice.”
According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, a single adult in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area would need to make $29.21 an hour at a full-time job, roughly $60,756 a year, to make a living wage. That number gets higher for every dependent relying on this pay.
Less than 20% of universities and organizations UW asked to participate in the survey even responded, meaning UW is trying to short our pay based on woefully incomplete data.
Paying OT to Erase Solidarity
During our bargaining session, our union siblings in WFSE and SEIU came together to chalk Red Square as a reminder that we run UW.
University management sent WFSE workers to erase the messaging on the square, putting these workers into overtime and forcing them to erase our harmless message of solidarity.
When we stand together, UW management can’t deny our strength. That’s why our August 31 Walkout is a necessity.
Watch the bargaining update here.
Fighting for Equitable Benefits
A huge expense for our members that management doesn’t want to budge on is parking.
Although WFSE workers get U Pass benefits for accessing public transit, we know a large majority of UW workers can’t afford to live in areas that service transit, or their schedules don’t permit them to use transit resources available.
If UW wants workers to use this benefit, since they refuse to lower parking costs for workers, they need to pay a wage that allows workers to feasibly commute by public transit to their campuses.
Currently, that is not the case for a majority of the workforce that keeps UW running.
Use Your Voice: Tell Your Story
Shame is a powerful tactic. How is it possible that employees at the “employer of choice” in our state are struggling to make ends meet, working with skeleton crews, and fighting for basic protections at work?
We know that UW’s short-sighted budget savings will cost employees, students, and our communities in the long run.
Do you have stories about how UW’s penny-pinching has cost you or your coworkers time, money, or productivity on the job? Share them with us here. Your voice will make an impact!
Show Up, Get Loud; Tell UW We Won't Back Down!
Our solidarity events are the perfect place to showcase our union’s strength. Seeing a sea of green reminds management that they’re dealing with a bargaining force of thousands, not only your bargaining team.
Make sure to put on some WFSE green and show up to these events!
Upcoming events:
Sept. 9, 2 PM: UW Board of Regents Picket
Sept. 13, 11 AM: Back2School Splash Local 3488 Family Picnic
In solidarity,
Your UW Bargaining Team