The Board of Regents Public Forum-Come and Be Heard, By Yourself.

At the Board of Regents’ first public forum on Wednesday February 14th, four members of the board were present to listen to student suggestions concerning state funding collapse, the laying off of custodians and TA positions, and the future of our University. The board listened to the suggestions, or at least, they seemed to listen. That is, they were sitting down without earphones on. Other than that there was really no reason to believe that they could hear a word the students said.

And the students had a great deal to be angry about. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, average tuition in the past 2 ½ decades has risen by 440 percent, which is more than four times the rate of inflation. At the University of Washington, state funds decreased from 401 million in 2009 to 212.2 million in 2012—nearly a 50% decrease, which has been made up through tuition increases and budget cuts. Nearly half of all student aid has been in the form of student loans, which gather enormous interest over time and cannot be eliminated even through bankruptcy. Even for students who demonstrate great need for funding, 40% of student aid reserved for these students is through student loans.

But the Board of Regents did not need to respond to these issues at all. They are simply not set up to care at all about student concerns. The Board of Regents is a body of ten people chosen by the governor, not the students, faculty or university staff. They make major decisions concerning supervision, investment and distribution of funds. To their credit, they used this power once to set in place a program that exempts tuition for those with part-time jobs (RCW 28B), and many students seemed to glorify them for this reason. Yet despite their power to enforce policies (such as exemptions) the board has so far been run by business elites chosen by Chris Gregoire, including airline-industry elites Bill Ayer and Pat Shanahan. This is one of many indications that the University itself is run as a for-profit business rather than a public education institution meant to support its greater community.

With no election process at all, and without any accountability for the Board’s actions, the crowd of students seemed to wonder: Will the Board even care what we think?

The answer seemed time and again, no. Despite tears from one speaker who could not afford to take care of her new-born child, the regents never said a word in response, making it clear that they only needed to host the public forum as an attempt to begin implementing what House Bill 2313 will eventually make mandatory: that public forums will need to be held once a year. The attempt seemed like an empty gesture--as merely a way of stating that they did not need to be forced to host a public forum, because they had one a year before they were forced to have one.

So the Board simply sat like golden statues receiving prayers, and the speakers were left with no certainty that anything was getting through. Even when the regents were asked direct questions like "how do you define public?" or "what have you done so far that meets student interests or participation?" there was not even a nod or a head-shake.

Why is education free in countries far poorer than the United States? Why do we have 150 administrators who get paid more than the governor? Why does our president make $800,000?

Speakers' questions only received ceaseless smiles and reminders that they were over their allotted three minutes. Soon speakers realized that the entire event was merely a gesture, signaled by the fact that few of the regents were even taking notes. The only purpose to speaking at all seemed to be in addressing the very audience who was meant to speak--not the regents, but the students, faculty and staff who cheered them on. A couple speakers acknowledged this directly, by reversing the microphone and turning their back on the regents to address the audience. If the Board would not listen, we would at least listen to ourselves.

UW Custodians Fight Back!

On Monday, February 6, UW custodians, tradesworkers, and supporters rallied to save the job of a fellow worker who was facing termination for reasons that are at best spurious and at worst straight-up lies. This custodian just so happened to be one of those who militantly fought to stop cuts and manage abuse in 2009 and 2010. He is the 8th custodian organizer to be retaliated against in this way. This rally helped show that direct action can indeed get the goods -- the next day this custodian’s job was saved!

Contrary to claims of some who seem to think that immigrant workers are incapable of organizing themselves, members of the union representing custodians and tradesworkers initiated and planned the rally. It was not sanctioned by the union officials but by the workers themselves. FaDU and other student and community members and groups came out in support both because we believe in justice and dignity for all workers and because we know that our own struggle for a democratic university is bound up with other workers’ struggles.

Here are comments that several FaDU members and supporters made about their experience going to the rally:

Before this week’s rally, I had been aware of custodians’ recent struggles against the elimination of the swing shift, and to improve their working conditions by being allowed to take reasonable breaks and have access to appropriate equipment to prevent injuries that lead to chronic health problems. Listening to several custodians address the crowd on Monday, however, I was shocked by what I heard. I was surprised to learn that UW management is repressing worker organization by arranging work schedules around language differences. I was also surprised to learn that UW management is firing custodians without reasonable cause, only to keep those positions vacant and require the workers who remain to pick up the extra work, in addition to their regular responsibilities and without additional pay. Monday’s rally was powerful because it was a public declaration of the working conditions that otherwise seem to remain largely invisible to UW students, faculty and community members. As a graduate student at UW, I am really angry about what I heard on Monday and I am committed to making UW’s management of this section of its workforce more visible so that we can all hold UW accountable for its treatment of the people who work here.

What I heard from custodians on Monday was that there are some arbitrary decisions taken by UW management in making temporary assignments to various buildings, or to purposely overwork a custodian by doubling their responsibilities during a particular shift -- and these may be calculated to send a punitive message (and not to improve cleanliness or make the work more efficient, etc). It makes the custodians more vulnerable. Complaints about custodians under those conditions might provide a basis for management to begin this 3-stage disciplinary review process (which i have to say i don't clearly understand). One more level of this, too: by not rehiring additional workers after a firing or a resignation, etc, there seems to be a gradual increase in the overall share of the work that custodians do on campus, possibly opening up the possibility of more disciplinary actions leveled at particular custodians.

Also it was clear that several rank and file workers are confident and ready to fight and they want to organize broadly with other people on campus, to become more visible as Anna said, and to collaborate with other workers. They are doing this with or without official WFSE say-so. This (as well as the awesome news of the retraction of the firing threat) is a good sign that we should celebrate.

Listening to story after story of ways in which UW custodians are subjected to intimidation and unjust working conditions on campus, I found myself reflecting on how I can best stand in solidarity with the struggles they are facing. I was particularly interested in one conversation with a UW undergrad and a UW custodian. The undergrad spoke to his complete lack of political efficacy in our two party system to make change. The student was disenchanted and promoted withholding participation in our current political structures . The custodian agreed with frustrations of our current political framework, however felt as though there is a sense of personal power that comes along with believing in something and taking action. He advocated education on issues, public protests, and voting for the "lesser of the two evils". The custodian repetitively begged the question: "But what are you for? You keep saying what you are against-but what are you for?" The student could not come up with an answer.

I think that question in an important one to keep in mind- especially as we are faced with important labor struggles on our own campus. As a community, what are we for and how can we best achieve that? What does a truly democratic university look like and how can our autonomous political decisions and behavior (both on and off the campus grounds) affect life at the university? I would love to see a space for collective visioning of democracy on campus. A space for collaboration and creativity to express solidarity with different struggles our community is facing and practice the kind of democracy we want to see.


Part of UW’s strategy for eliminating custodian positions is to shift more of the labor of clean-up to people that the university doesn’t have to pay. Hence the “self-serve” garbage and recycle bins in some building offices and similar stations for cleaning library computers. Make no mistake, FaDU does not believe that UW students and faculty are above cleaning up after ourselves. But this is not about democratizing work, it’s about cutting jobs. Maybe someday there will be no such thing as a custodian or a student, and we will all share responsibility for cleaning, for learning, and for sharing knowledge, but in the meantime the self-cleaning stations illustrate just one of the effects of ever-increasing austerity in our education system.

Canadian Teaching Assistants Preparing to Strike

Graduate student workers at University of Toronto, who are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902, have rejected the tentative contract between their union and the university and are poised to go on strike on February 24. Like UW's Academic Student Employees, grad workers at UT have faced dramatic speedup in the form of increased lab and class sizes in the last four years while simultaneously dealing with major cuts to funding for advanced students.

Read more about CUPE 3902's fight here.

All power to the rank and file!

UW General Assemblies

Last night, University of Washington students, staff, and community members held the first UW general assembly. This was a public meeting that created an alternative space for both discussion and decision making. The GA allows for democratic decision making, from the ground-up, about what affects us as student and workers at this public university. Last night, we discussed campaigns we'd like to see happen at UW, including a student debt strike, a boycott divestment sanctions campaign at UW against Israeli apartheid, and logistical details about how to proceed with future GAs.

Missed last night's GA? Minutes are posted on the UW GA website. Be sure to check out this positive coverage in UW Daily, which includes interviews with For a Democracy University Members Chris and Ariel! Note an error in the article: FADU is actually an interdisciplinary group rather than exclusive to the English department.

FADU hopes you will be able to join the second GA next week on Tuesday, January 17, at 5 pm in By George Cafe in the basement of Odegaard.

For a Democratic University

Fall 2011 Grading Party

At the end of each academic quarter, For a Democratic University initiates
a Grade-In at Suzzallo Espresso. Whether you have participated in the past
or not, join with other grad student workers from* 12PM - 5PM at Suzzallo
on Wednesday, December 14 and Thursday, December 15 *to grade, read, write,
work on research and to show your solidarity with other workers on campus.

Why do we do this? As workers at UW, our labor is our power. The
contributions we make alongside students, faculty and staff around us are
easily discredited and made invisible when we work alone, hunkered down and
isolated at our own desks. At the Grade-In, however, we engage a public
space and quietly demonstrate to those around us that there is a politics
at our workplace.

We will also be discussing possibilities for bringing Occupy to UW in
winter quarter.

Save the Date!

For a Democratic University, supporters, and students we met at Westlake during the October 11 student walkout to Occupy Seattle. Click the image to enlarge.

Save the dates for two of our upcoming FADU events! Our next happy hour will be December 6 at 5 pm at Big Time. Our quarterly grade-in was Wednesday and Thursday of finals week (December 14 and 15).

November Happy Hour

Hello supporters/colleagues of FaDU,

Thanks a lot to those of you who attended our Happy Hour last month at Solstice. It was good to share some reflections of the new school year potential projects in 2011-2012. October found many of us wrapped up in this wonderful, galvanizing Occupy Seattle movement, and we suspect this grabbed your attention, too.

Now we are ready to move forward on these UW writing center plans. We want to craft next steps and goals on the writing center campaign with you. We also want to see if you have you been able to do some research on how funding has changed at UW for the writing centers.

But whether or not you've done so, please join us Tuesday the 8th at Big Time (on the Ave), beginning at 5PM (this remains an all ages venue until 8PM). We know some classes are getting out just after 5PM, but you're welcome to come late. If you know that someone else is passionate about this issue, bring them, too. Come out, grab some pizza or frites to go with that pint glass, and help us plan some practical, radical politics!

In solidarity,

FaDU

Fall 2011 Happy Hour

For a Democracy University is holding our first happy hour of the school year on Thursday, October 6, at 4:30 at Cafe Solstice at 4116 University Way. Join us to talk about labor on campus, meet other grad students, and talk about what you'd like to see in a campaign for this school year. Cafe Solstice is all ages, and serves coffee/tea as well as beer/wine. Children are welcome.

Open Letter to UAW 4121 Regarding the Proposed Expiration Date

Below is the text of a letter FADU has sent to the UAW 4121 Executive Board. We want to share it with you in order to continue broad engagement with matters affecting graduate student workers. The letter calls on the EBoard to reply in writing to these concerns. We also plan to bring this issue to the UAW Membership Meeting on Tuesday (5/31 at 3:30 in Foege N130), and hope you will be able to attend with your own clarifying questions as we near the end of the quarter.
Please forgive cross postings as we share this document widely--and do join us in sharing this with all ASEs

------------------------------------------------


May 28, 2011


Open Letter to the UAW 4121 Executive Board/BargainingTeam

To the UAW 4121 Executive Board,

As the spring quarter draws to a close and bargaining with the University of Washington enters the fourth week after the April 30 contract expiration, we write with regards to the ongoing negotiations. While the bargaining updates of May 20th, May 6th, and May 4th all indicate ongoing conversations about two of the major issues on the table (fee waivers and health care coverage), a third bargaining item proposed in the update sent on April 30th has not been mentioned since: a one year contract “which would expire June 30, 2011” [sic]. We write with concern for the third item, to call attention to it and to elicit explanation from the Bargaining Team.

Our first question: is the proposed end date June 30, 2011 or June 30, 2012?

Assuming the latter, there are two concerns we call on the UAW Bargaining Team to address. The first is the decision to enter into a second one-year contract. Last year UAW Local 4121 concluded a three-year contract and the membership voted to ratify the one year contract we are now concluding. We, members of UAW 4121 and of FADU, reiterate our concern that another one-year contract will make us vulnerable to yet another year of possible takeaways and harsh cutbacks. How does this short-term contract provide protection to ASE workers and strengthen our union?

Our second concern is the proposed contract expiration date of June 30th. Such a late expiration date would move the bargaining process to a time when the majority of ASEs have concluded their contractual obligations for the year. With the majority of ASEs off-campus, neither leading sections and classes, nor grading papers, nor conducting research, our power to unite and fight as workers will be limited. Resources for visible and vocal support of UAW bargaining will be eliminated. The possibility of a strike will be removed. What benefits outweigh the destruction of our two greatest strengths: our voice and our labor?

A third question this issue raises is pertinent to both this year and next: what is the procedure for the contract ratification vote if negotiations proceed into the summer? The fourth contract extension has expired, a fifth has been established. With only one week and finals left in the quarter, we request information concerning how the E-Board proposes to present a contract to rank-and-file for ratification. What will the procedure be in future years if the June 30th expiration date is ratified? According to the UAW International Constitution, it is the responsibility of the Bargaining Team to present the proposed contract to the vote of Local Union Membership. The local bylaws prohibit regular membership meetings from June 16th through September 15th and also require the Bargaining Team to present the final contract to the membership for ratification (Article 19, Section 3). Though the Executive Board retains the power of highest authority between membership meetings, matters concerning the vital interests of the Local Union are subject to the approval of the membership (Article 7, Section 2). By what procedure does the UAW Executive Board propose to fulfill these obligations, present the contract to rank-and-file members for approval, and enter into negotiations with the full strength of membership available to support the process of bargaining for a fair contract?

We call on the UAW Executive Board to respond by email to the membership to address the concerns raised by what appears to be a minor change in dates, but is in fact a serious threat to the strength of our union.



In Solidarity,



For A Democratic University

UPDATE: AWDU victory after vote count resumes at UC!

After a contentious struggle to get every vote counted in the UAW elections at University of California, counting resumed on May 5th after the votes had been abandoned by the elections committee five days earlier. Voter turnout for this election was exponentially higher than previous years, and as predicted, the AWDU reform slate was proven victorious after the rest of the ballots were counted and certified!

From the AWDU blog:

"We are excited to announce that our votes have finally been counted and our reform slate has won nearly 60% of positions on our UAW 2865 union Joint Council! The 80-member Joint Council is the highest elected body of our union with representatives from every campus.

55% of voters also cast their ballots for our Academic Workers for a Democratic Union (AWDU) reform slate for the UAW 2865 Executive Board – electing our candidates to all 10 positions on the Board, including President. The Elections Committee has certified these election results as true and fair. You can see the full results here."

For more information about the election struggle and the UAW 2865 contract, visit AWDU's blog or click here.

Stolen UAW Leadership Elections at the UC -- show your support for democratic elections!

Last week, the UAW Local 2865 – representing 12,000 Academic Student Employees at the University of California – held elections for top union leadership positions. Challenging the incumbents were a reform slate of candidates from Academic Workers for a Democratic Union (AWDU). Here’s an overview of the chain of events that ended with an undemocratic stolen election.

• Tuesday, April 26: Voting begins.

• Thursday, April 28: Voting ends.

• Friday, April 29: All ballot boxes are taken to UCLA to be counted, despite challenges to the procedures.

• Saturday, April 30: Halfway through counting votes – when it seems possible that AWDU can win the elections – the chair of the Elections Committee, Travis Knowles of UCSD, declares the election “partially certified” and stops the count! This means more than 1500 votes from UC Berkeley and UCLA (nearly half the ballots cast) are not counted when the election is called and the Elections Committee abandons the ballots. All challenges will not be considered until July.

Rallies and sit-ins are taking place in Berkeley and beyond, but you can still help from Seattle by emailing the following people and telling them you think that ALL BALLOTS should be counted and democracy maintained:

President, Daraka Larimore-Hall larimorehall@uaw2865.org

Vice President, Jorge Cabrera jcabrera@uaw2865.org

Financial Secretary, Donna Fenton financial@uaw2865.org

Elections Committee Chair, Travis Knowles elections@uaw2865.org

Director for Region 5, Jim Wells jwells@uaw.net

You can also sign AWDU's electronic petition here: http://www.awdu.org/count-all-of-the-votes

Help our peers in California put a stop business-as-usual at the UAW until they COUNT ALL THE VOTES.

For more information about problems with this election and the response from AWDU and their supporters, check out the following links:

http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2011/04/california-grad-students-seek-bottom-union

http://www.dailycal.org/article/112993/concern_over_voting_fraud_grows_in_un

http://thosewhouseit.wordpress.com/

http://www.awdu.org/

-For a Democratic University

Upcoming Events

Wednesday April 27th

• 3:30 PM UAW membership meeting in Bagley 154, to be followed by a UAW action (more details to come from UAW)
  http://www.uaw4121.org

• 7-9 PM Caring Labor event sponsored by the Bridges Center. "Young, Disparaged and Paid in Smiles: Experiences in the Caring Labor Industry," Room 305AM, UW School of Social Work, 4101 15th Ave NE.
  More info: http://depts.washington.edu/pcls/events.html

Friday April 29th

• 11-11:30 AM Come picket in the Quad with FaDU and teaching and research assistants at UW who are fighting for a fair labor contract. The current contract for "academic student employees" expires April 30, but negotiations are likely to extend into the summer.
  

Sunday May 1st

• NOON International Worker's day march for immigrants' and workers' rights. Meet at noon at Judkins Playfield, 611 20th Ave S, Seattle

• Meet up with FaDU at the march to join us for a BBQ afterwards

Spring Quarter Happy Hour

Join us for

Happy Hour!

Thursday, April 21st 5:00pm

Café Solstice (all ages)

4116 University Way NE

Join us to discuss upcoming struggles and issues:

• organizing around childcare for all students and campus workers;

• UAW’s ongoing contract negotiations

• May Day: International Workers’ Day

Why Do TAs & RAs Want Open Bargaining?

Fellow Rank and File Members of UAW 4121,

As you know, our labor union is about to begin negotiating a new contract between graduate student workers and University of Washington management. This will replace the one-year contract that our executive board negotiated with management last spring. At that time, management brought many frightening takeaways to the bargaining table, including cutting up to 440 teaching assistant quarters, the closure of writing and tutoring centers, the imposition of health care premiums, and loss of lay-off protection. Not knowing what was happening in bargaining for several months only added to the fear and doubt that many of us felt. As rank and file members, we want to be actively engaged in the bargaining process to ensure that UW acknowledges our value and power as workers, and therefore we wish to attend bargaining between UAW and UW this time around.

What is open bargaining?
Open bargaining occurs when rank and file members are permitted to attend contract negotiation meetings. We are not advocating that bargaining be open to the general public. Members do not engage in negotiation, but actively observe. Open bargaining promotes democracy in the union because it is a transparent way for members to engage in bargaining.

Is open bargaining common union practice?
SEIU 925, which represents about 4000 office and technical workers at UW, practices open bargaining. WFSE 1488, the third union on campus, does not, although they do ensure that their bargaining team contains representation from every sector in their union local, and they provide detailed updates on the state of bargaining.* UAW 4121 has the distinction of having the least transparent bargaining process at University of Washington.

Wouldn’t open bargaining mean that we need to fill the room every time or risk looking weak to management?
Open bargaining is just one tactic among many to assert our power as workers. We can strategically attend bargaining at key moments in negotiation. Last year rank and file graduate student workers organized numerous pickets, rallies, and other events comprising between 20 and 100 other ASEs. Such mobilizations, employed at strategic times, would give us more power in negotiations. Establishing open bargaining is in itself a way to show UW the commitment of the rank and file to negotiating a fair contract.

Won’t open bargaining make UW management angry and unwilling to negotiate?
Management is required to bargain in good faith, though they don’t always do this. During the 2010 contract negotiations, UW repeatedly walked out on closed bargaining meetings. Open bargaining would hold management accountable to us so that they would be more pressured to bargain in good faith.

We are the union.
Join us at our bargaining goals ratification meeting on February 17 to vote yes on open bargaining.

For a Democratic University
English Grads for Public Education

*Here are examples from WFSE 1488 and UAW 4121 bargaining updates late in contract negotiations

WFSE 1488 BARGAINING UPDATES:

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON. The UW Bargaining Team met in another mediation session Wednesday (Feb. 2). The team spent the day seeking clarifications and trying to work up some new ideas to move things forward. They reminded management that this was the second time they had failed to address the transfer proposal we included in Article 42 (Appointments and Positions).

For their part management DID agree to go back to our current language on both overtime and FMLA-this is not a major movement, but does reduce the number of items on the table.

On some major issues: management still seems to have no appetite for seniority as the deciding factor on rehires/transfers; no major movement on improvements to removal of records, corrective action, or the grievance procedure article; the UW team made it clear that we would take no action regarding either contracting out OR the layoff article pending the PERC finding of fact from our PREVIOUS negotiations.

An additional mediation session is slated for March.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES COALITION. The Community College Coalition Bargaining Team wraps up three days of negotiations Feb. 4.


INFORMATION MEETINGS ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACT

The information meetings on the General Government tentative contract agreement started Monday and continue until mail ballots are due Feb. 11. These meetings also give General Government members the option of dropping off ballots in person if they don’t want to drop it in the mail.

The complete list of contract information meetings is online at www.wfse.org and in the special 40-page newspaper on the contract that General Government members received in the mail.


UAW 4121 Bargaining Update

Greetings,

Yesterday we met with the University and the mediator and began a discussion of a comprehensive settlement package. The discussion was not concluded, and we formally extended the contract until June 1st, 2010.

As the end of the quarter approaches we will continue communicating with members individually about next steps. Please contact us at uaw4121@uaw4121.org or 206.633.6080 if you have specific questions. As a reminder we will be having a membership meeting on Friday (May 28th) at 5:30 pm in Loew 102.

Thanks as always for your continued support during these negotiations. For updates and more information about bargaining you can always go to our website: www.uaw4121.org

In solidarity,

UAW 4121 Bargaining Committee

Childcare Forum

Childcare Forum
Monday, February 14th, 3:30pm
Savery 157

Here are just some of the things that student-parents at UW have to say about the childcare provisions for students and workers at UW:

• Childcare is the big constraint, which determines how you will spend your time and resources

• I worry about being perceived as not serious about school, I don’t want to use having a child as an excuse not to do stuff. I am always very conscious of this...

• The University isn’t structured to accommodate parents, or really any people who have any obligations outside of school. Faculty don’t think that students are going home to families or caring for their own parents or other relatives…
  

Join For A Democratic University (FaDU) on Monday, February 14th to share your experiences as a student-parent, learn about what it's like to be a student-parent at UW, and strategize with other university students and workers about how to demand improvements to childcare at UW.
There will be food! Children are welcome!

Grade-In with Grad Student Workers

event by For a Democratic University

1-5 PM Wednesday December 15th

Suzzallo Espresso

Join FaDU the Wednesday of finals week for a grade-in. We will be in Suzzallo Espresso—drop in any time between 1 and 5, bring those stacks of exams and papers, and grade in solidarity with other grad students! If you’re not a TA, you are still welcome to join us and bring something you are working on. Help us take up as many tables as possible and create a politicized space, where we can be visible as graduate student workers. Our labor is our power! The University makes A LOT of money on our backs, considering the amount of research money or money for student tuition we make for the UW in comparison to our wages.

This is also a chance to talk with other grads about how budget cuts are affecting you. Come out Wednesday, have a coffee, and work in solidarity with other grads!

UC UAW Local 2865 contract ratification

Our peers in California, rank and file members of UAW Local 2865, are voting this week on a contract that they don't support. Across the state, members are voting "no" and in doing so, are demanding an end to undemocratic bargaining practices and that the union begin to mobilize the membership's power in a real and meaningful way. Here are some of the letters in support of a "no" vote that are being circulated by the membership of UAW Local 2865:

• “Why We Are Voting No” by AWaDU (Academic Workers for a Democratic Union)
  
• letter from UCI head steward Cheryl Deutsch
• letter from 5 members of the bargaining team
• letter from the Ethnic Studies Graduate Alliance
• letter of solidarity from the CUNY Adjunct Project

Fellow grad students and UAW Local 2865 union members,

I’m writing to tell you why I will be voting NO on the tentative agreement reached last week between our union and the UC.

I believe our current union leadership conceded to this agreement after disingenuous efforts at both organizing and bargaining. I think we can do better.

Our union has fallen prey to a number of undemocratic practices that obstruct member participation and leave us strategically vulnerable in contract negotiations. Efforts at member outreach have been superficial at best. When it came time to set priorities for this round of negotiations, for example, UCI was almost entirely left out of the loop. Those of us who have made efforts to find out more information and/or get involved have been ignored or talked down to. As you can see from the emails that the leadership occasionally deigns to send out, communication within and from the union is not easily forthcoming, while the information that does get sent out is often vague and confusing. Participation seems always already foreclosed. The sum of all these undemocratic practices is a weak union poorly positioned to win anything but a weak contract.

While the gains on childcare subsidy in the tentative agreement are a step in the right direction, its provision for a 2% annual raise is insufficient to keep pace with the increasing cost of living. (Just think about the automatic 6-7% increase in our grad student housing rent every year here in Irvine…) If ratified, this agreement will become our contract for the next three years. The union leadership never even brought to the bargaining table issues like guaranteed affordable housing (i.e. not VDC and Puerta Del Sol, the expensive private housing that we can’t reject without losing our housing guarantees…) or the issue of ‘new’ fees like the $200+ per quarter that we now pay. Putting a limit on runaway class sizes and teaching loads has never even been on the leadership’s radar.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way… Not everyone involved in bargaining was on board with this agreement: all present representatives from Berkeley and Santa Cruz objected to the agreement and refused to sign it. You can read their statement here:

http://thosewhouseit.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/five-members-of-the-uaw-2865-bargaining-team-urge-rank-and-file-to-mobilize-for-a-no-vote/

They believe, like I do, that we deserve a stronger contract. This, in turn, demands a stronger union. Together, we are part of a large and growing group of union members across the state working together to build a more democratic union. We believe a NO vote on the tentative agreement will be an important first step in this direction.

Voting NO on ratification of this agreement will send our union representatives back to the bargaining table for a fresh start and a mandate to push for a strong contract that includes:

• Wages that keep pace with the cost of living
• A full fee remission (including that bullshit $200+ per quarter)
• Full childcare subsidies
• Guaranteed affordable housing
• Adequate appointment notification and security

I encourage you to join me in voting NO on this agreement. You can pledge to do so here:

http://ucstudents.org/voteno

Voting will take place next week, Monday through Thursday, outside SST. There will be a union meeting on Monday, Nov 29 at 5:30pm in SBSG 3323.

Finally, you might hear rumors that a vote against this contract is a vote to go on strike. This is not true. With a NO vote, we can go back to bargaining with the UC stronger than ever.

Remember: THE UNIVERSITY WORKS BECAUSE WE DO…

Sincerely,

Cheryl Deutsch
Department of Anthropology
UC Irvine

Open Letter to the Bargaining Team of UAW 2865

UAW local 2865 represents University of California's Graduate Student Instructors, tutors, and graders, and is currently in contract negotiations with UC management. Read below our open letter to their bargaining team calling on them to respect rank and file workers and call a strike!

Open letter to the bargaining team for UAW Local 2865

by For a Democratic University, an independent graduate student labor group at University of Washington

As rank and file members of UAW 4121, For a Democratic University (FaDU) fully supports the efforts of University of California’s Academic Workers for a Democratic Union (AWDU) to build rank-and-file power, gain a strong contract, and increase transparency and democracy in their union. FaDU spent much of last spring calling on our elected union leadership, who were engaged in tough bargaining with University of Washington management, to fight for workers and to call a strike if necessary. After multiple contract extensions and implied strike threats, 4121’s bargaining team agreed to a temporary contract with no substantive gains for Academic Student Employees (ASEs), leaving us vulnerable to further cuts this year. Having backed off the strike, the bargaining team lost the opportunity for even modest gains for ASEs.

Now we see a similar drama unfolding at University of California. Members of UAW 2865’s contract expired September 30, but you, members of the bargaining team, have extended negotiations rather than calling a strike. As AWDU members stated so clearly in April, “[w]e already know that the autocratic managers of the university will not listen to us unless we force them to. Since we are left with no choice, then we must use force: we must strike to make our demands heard.”

Thus far, UC managment have made it clear that they refuse to provide ASEs with a decent wage. In more than two months of bargaining, UAW 2865 has obtained only extremely minor improvements in managements’ offers. It’s time for action. We call on you to call for a strike in early December and begin devoting the union local’s resources toward member mobilization. UAW 2865 members have already made it clear that they won’t accept a below-inflation wage increase. They are willing to fight, and you are their elected representatives. As ASEs and rank and file members of UAW, we are in solidarity with UC workers and call on you to begin strike preparation immediately.

In Solidarity,
For a Democratic University

Another Happy Hour!

Join FaDU for another happy hour! Still at Solstice Cafe on the Ave, this time at 5:30 on Wednesday, October 20. We'll be talking more about how to fight against privatization of UW and for an anti-racist, anti-sexist university.

FaDU Happy Hour

Join members of FaDU for an all ages happy hour at Cafe Solstice -- serving beer, wine, coffee, tea, and some of the best pastries on the Ave. Learn more about FaDU and talk with us about how we can work to make UW a truly public, anti -racist, anti-sexist university.

Thursday, Sept 30, 4:30 PM
Cafe Solstice
4116 University Way