TLDR: Add your name to our “Fully Fund Western” petition RIGHT NOW to show the university that we are committed to working together to save our educational and working experiences from budget cuts.
We had another day of bargaining yesterday, where we brought counterproposals for: Accommodations, ADEI training, anti harassment and discrimination, discipline and dismissal, and dependent care.
WWU admin passed 7 counter proposals across the table, including tuition & fee waivers, parking, professional development, job postings/descriptions, and appointment letters. They made it clear that their philosophy is it’s not their job as our employer to ensure that we can afford to live in Bellingham or provide us with timely information about our work at Western. We are committed to creating a contract that ensures clear communication and expectations about the conditions of our workplaces. Check out the bargaining center on our website for more specifics!
We also continue to hear the “we have no money” narrative from Western administrators, telling us that budget cuts are the reason that they can’t provide the appropriate protections to student workers. But these protections are the responsibility of the university as our employer to provide. Student Employees shouldn’t have to pay the price for Western’s failure to acquire adequate funding from the state. This is exactly why we’ve teamed up with other unions on campus – to save our educational experience as students and workers from the attack on higher education. Our petition demanding state resources to fully fund Western will show WWU admin and state legislators that funding higher education must be a priority for the state of Washington. So far, hundreds of ESEs have signed onto the petition!! If you haven’t yet, add your name RIGHT NOW alongside hundreds of your coworkers.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 28th, from 10-2, we will be tabling with our campus wide union siblings in Red Square! Stop by our table and sign your name to the physical copy of the petition!
See you around campus!
Solidarity,
WAWU ESE Bargaining Committee
Ally Wehrle, Graduate TA
Ben Workman Smith, Graduate TA
David Cummins, Graduate RA/TA
Erin Grimes, Graduate TA
Erin Magarro, Library Tutor/Ethnic Student Center
Ev Coit, Graduate TA
Gabe Wong, Associated Students Peer Advisor
Jaime Blais, Graduate RA/TA
Josh Kinney, Business Management Faculty Assistant
Jude Ziliak, Academic Advising and Student Achievement Center Peer Advisor
Lexy Aydelotte, Graduate TA
Lydia Henderson, Graduate TA
Mickey Jolliff, Graduate RA/TA
Mason Nicholas, Student Technology Center Computer Assistant
Theo Hytopoulos, Computer Science Faculty Assistant
Valerie Campbell, Financial Aid Peer Advisor