Yesterday afternoon, we went back to the bargaining table with WWU admin. We headed in with a lot of momentum and we’re quickly working our way through the early articles of our contract. Over the course of four hours, we exchanged a total of twelve articles — eight from us and four from management. That’s almost a quarter of the whole contract, and we’re already close to a tentative agreement on several of the articles.
We proposed articles on Recognition, Severability, a joint Union-Management Committee, Union Rights, Union Dues, Union VCAP, Workspace and Materials, and Personnel Files. Almost all of these articles address our union’s legal rights and longevity — they create the infrastructure to keep our union strong for decades.
Management proposed articles about the Grievance Procedure, the Scope of the Agreement, their Management Rights, and our right to strike (No Strikes, No Lockouts). Some of these are in decent shape; others are unacceptable and will need a lot of work. As always, you can see the text of each proposal in our bargaining hub.
If we want to keep up this pace, there’s a lot to do in the next few weeks. First, block out time on your calendar for our Wages, Tuition, and Fees Town Hall on Wednesday, November 15 from 4-6pm. This is the most important issue to many WAWU members — we need to come together as a whole campus to draft our proposal. Bring your coworkers, eat some pizza, and help decide what wage you want to fight for in your new contract.
And then lend your name to the majority by signing our initial bargaining demands! More signatures give us more power, and with more power we can win a better contract. Tell your coworkers to sign on too.
Solidarity from your elected WAWU Bargaining Committee:
Gabe Wong, AS Senate President & Peer Advisor
Kenneth McKinney, Physics Faculty Assistant
Mara Sullivan, Library Assistant
Mason Nicholas, STC Computer Assistant
April Reed, Environmental Science Research Assistant
David Cummins, Chemistry Research Assistant
Valerie Campbell, Financial Aid Peer Advisor
Eli Bennett, Computer Science Tutor
Chris Reid, English TA
Lexy Aydelotte, History TA