Though we wish we could have made more progress, the tide is turning in negotiations following our walkout.
We know management is on alert. We have the attention of the media, the governor, and President Cauce. And we aren’t going to let them look away.
This week’s sessions brought us back to compensation, with UW management insisting we move lower if we want to see any movement on their single-digit COLA offers. We keep reminding them—1% and 2% are milk, not a COLA! UW workers need higher wages to fight inflation and provide a better life for their families.
“I want to move out of low-income housing,” said one of your bargaining team members. “I see management riding around in their Bentleys and Mercedes. They own houses. And we live in low-income housing. I want to give my kids something better.”
This was a common sentiment echoed in the walkout on September 10, when we gathered to talk to President Cauce’s Chief of Staff. The workers who keep UW running, and want to keep working for the University, can’t afford to if they want to achieve other dreams, like starting a family or even just affording rent without roommates in Seattle.
UW is offering an MOU for food service workers who assist with special diets at the medical centers and main campus, but they aren’t explaining why some food service workers are getting left behind with the new pay scale. We are fighting to ensure we stand united and don’t leave any job classes behind.
UW is still pushing its apprenticeship program, but we are working to fix its issues and help underpaid workers move up at the University. UW’s program doesn’t follow L&I guidelines and would leave apprentices unprepared to work outside the University, but fixes are possible.
UW management has been unable to provide us with examples of trades apprenticeships working at the University, but the tradespeople on your bargaining team are ready to give suggestions to implement an impactful apprenticeship program.
Our fight for better safety equipment continues, with UW saying that security officers can’t get more ergonomic vests due to “appearance” and “philosophical differences” between how UW workers are allowed to look on the job. Management doesn’t want security to look scary, even if it means protecting employees from the increasing violence they face on campus and at medical centers. To UW management, optics are more important than their employees’ safety.
We want workers to have a viable future at the University of Washington and beyond. We believe in training employees in skill areas that make them better workers and advance their careers, and will continue to advocate for every worker and every job class at UW to get fair treatment!
We’re coming down to our last few bargaining sessions and management is in the hot seat as our actions get louder, with everyone paying attention to what UW workers are demanding: compensation that keeps up with inflation, respect on the job, and to be treated like we deserve as we keep UW functioning.
Keep up to date with bargaining in your emails, on WFSE social media, and by talking to your coworkers. Get ready to get loud and spring into action if we don’t get what we want. We aren’t going to take UW’s disrespect any longer!