We are:
Tutors, Teaching Assistants, Peer Advisors, Research Assistants, Library Assistants, Faculty Assistants, and Research Advisors
We do a massive amount of the teaching, instructional, and research work that makes WWU run on a daily basis
We filed a petition with the WA State Labor Board in December 2022
We passed a law to clearly enshrine collective bargaining rights for academic student employees at regional universities in WA
The WWU Administration has supported our legal right to unionize
We won our Union with a 98% YES vote in May 2023
Finished bargaining our historic first contract May 22nd
ESE Bargaining Session #8 Updates
Welcome to your weekly bargaining updates! As usual, we are keeping up the pace of bargaining to build our first contract as soon as possible. This week, we passed eight counter proposals across the table to Western Admin. We made movement towards WWU on Health and...
ESE Bargaining Session #7 Updates
As Educational Student Employees, we won the right last year to collectively bargain for our working conditions. Our counterparts who do similar work with different job titles (Operational Student Employees) are currently fighting for their own recognition from...
ESE Bargaining Session #6 Updates
At the bargaining session yesterday, we finally proposed all of our major contract articles by passing them across the table! Over 50 ESEs presented our demands for wages, tuition & fee waivers, parking, housing and healthcare, despite WWU Admin unilaterally...
ESE Bargaining Session #5 Updates
Huge news from the bargaining table this week! On Tuesday afternoon, we Tentatively Agreed to two absolutely crucial articles: 1) Training and 2) Workspace and Materials. In our Training article, we won the right to be trained in the duties necessary for our jobs and...
ESE Bargaining Session #4 Updates
Two big pieces of news! First, we have 14 OPEN SPOTS on our Bargaining Committee. The BC voted to expand itself this week, and we’re so excited to welcome tons of new people into the heart of the bargaining process. If you care about our contract and want to play an...
We’re holding a vacancy election!
Bargaining Committee Elections Announcement Nominations for the WAWU Bargaining Committee are now open. Accept your nomination before the deadline on Monday, December 11th! Accept your nomination using THIS FORM! The Bargaining Committee (BC) is the elected group of...
ESE Bargaining Session #3 Updates
Yesterday we went back to the bargaining table for our third round of negotiations with WWU admin. Over the course of the afternoon, we Tentatively Agreed to two articles and proposed four new ones. Check out the full text in our Bargaining Hub later today! Here are...
ESE Bargaining Session #2 Updates
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...
ESE Bargaining Session #1 Updates
Yesterday afternoon, we started negotiating our first ever contract with WWU admin. The 10 of us elected Bargaining Committee members and almost 20 other Educational Student Employees from across campus showed up to the Old Main Solarium, where we sat across the table...
Meet Your ESE Bargaining Committee Candidates
I want to be part of the conversation as I’ve been a research assistant for 5 years at western. I also am I communication major so I know how to communicate effectively our demands. Hello! My name is Paige and I'm running for the research assistant (RA) bargaining...
Check out our Bargaining Center page
Check out details about our first tentative agreement and vote to ratify our contract!