October 5, 2023
This past Tuesday, we had a quick half-day Bargaining session.
TL;DR:
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Our ASE team presented counterproposals on Immigration, Housing, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training (EPIC program) and a package proposal consisting of Workload, Vacation, and Holidays.
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Admin presented counterproposals on Union Rights, Layoffs and passed back counterproposals for Immigration and Housing.
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Admin offered 3 more bargaining dates in November (16th, 20th, and 29th), but no additional dates for October.
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Our rally and ULP have clearly put pressure on Admin; we’ve continued to observe results at the bargaining table. Let’s keep this pressure strong as we start discussing planning a Strike Authorization Vote (SAV). RSVP here to be a part of those discussions.
To read the details of our package proposal as well as other counterproposals discussed during bargaining, read on below. As a reminder, you can review the full proposals that were presented in the Bargaining Center & RSVP here to attend upcoming bargaining sessions (Oct 31, Nov. 16, Nov. 20, and Nov 29).
Our ASE team passed proposals on Immigration back and forth with Admin several times during the session. We are getting closer to an agreement here! Admin moved towards us by accepting and codifying collaborative space for us to host visa and immigration workshops. We remain apart and our team continues to maintain the stance that the University should be responsible for visa fees required for ASEs to perform their work, such as for visa(s) required to travel to and from international conferences. Our team additionally updated our Sexual Harassment and Prevention Training (EPIC program) proposal to be in line with logistics discussed at a sidebar meeting with some members of the Admin bargaining team. This proposal would establish an empowering prevention and inclusive communities (EPIC) program at WSU. We will keep pushing for what is necessary to effectively implement the EPIC program.
Our ASE team also presented a package of counterproposals including Workload, Vacation and Holidays. This set of proposals frames our contract’s ability to protect ASEs from overwork, whereas Admin are more concerned with ensuring that ASEs are meeting expected work hours. We made our goals clear by maintaining our proposal on Vacation and by adjusting Workload expectations to align with hours requirements at Universities such as the UW and the UCs. We have maintained the need for a shortened grievance process to address time-sensitive workload issues, which Admin claim would be difficult to arbitrate, as our ASE employment is “incredibly complex work that [even Admin] couldn’t begin to understand.”
Our team also passed a counterproposal for Housing, where we reframed our economic ask to reflect a rent freeze across WSU housing where ASEs reside. After some discussion, Admin rejected the rent freeze entirely, claiming that any benefits they afford us will be at the expense of the entire WSU community. This is a mischaracterization of what is effectively admin’s choice to make, rather than a necessary consequence.
Finally, Admin have recently suggested we solicit mediation from the State Labor Board (PERC) to help us resolve our economic proposals. Moving to mediation likely means that Admin no longer have to bargain with us face-to-face. Admin believe they’re unable to continue moving towards us, making mediation necessary, but this is clearly false. We have been and can continue to productively work through bargaining in a professional manner that produces an equitable and financially conscious CBA for our unit. We have declined Admin’s suggestion to move towards state mediation.
We will need to continue to escalate pressure on Admin to win the fair contract we deserve. Fill out this jotform to get an email with information on how to join or to be involved in future meetings to work towards planning a Strike Authorization Vote.
WSU-CASE Bargaining Committee:
Acacia Patterson, Physics & Astronomy (Pullman)
Adam Bozman, Carson College of Business – Finance (Pullman)
Andre Diehl, Comparative Ethnic Studies (Pullman)
Arianna Gonzales, Psychology (Pullman)
Aurora Brinkman, Psychology (Pullman)
Chelsea Mitchell, School of the Environment (Puyallup Research and Extension Center)
Chia-Hui Chen, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Spokane)
Claudia Skinner, School of Languages, Cultures, and Race (Pullman)
Cody Lauritsen, College of Veterinary Medicine (Pullman)
Coty Jasper, Integrative Physiology & Neuroscience (Vancouver)
Dano Holt, School of the Environment (Pullman)
Evan Domsic, Crop and Soil Science (Mount Vernon NWREC)
Gavin Doyle, English (Pullman)
Hannah Cohen, Veterinary Clinical Sciences (Pullman)
Kartik Sreedhar, Physics & Astronomy (Pullman)
Kayla Spawton, Plant Pathology (Mount Vernon NWREC)
Kelsey King, School of Biological Sciences (Vancouver)
Miles Hopkins, School of the Environment (Pullman)
Miranda Zuniga-Kennedy, Clinical Psychology (Pullman)
Naseeha Cardwell, Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering (Pullman/Tri-Cities)
Natalie Yaw, Chemistry (Pullman)
Ninh Khuu, Plant Pathology (Prosser)
Peter Obi, Pharmaceutical Sciences (Spokane)
Raymond Bennett, Psychology (Pullman)
Rebecca Evans, Biology (Vancouver)
Shawn Domgaard, Communication (Pullman)
Tazin Rahman, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (Pullman)
Tholen Justin Blasko, Animal Sciences (Pullman)
Victor Moore, History (Pullman)
Victoria Oyanna, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Spokane)
Whitney Shervey, Sociology (Pullman)
Yiran Guo, Mechanical and Materials Engineering (Pullman)