October 9, 2023
It’s time.
We’re taking a Strike Authorization Vote.
On Wednesday, September 27th, hundreds of WSU Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Tutors, and other ASEs gathered on our respective campuses to rally for rights. Together, we recognized the need to continue to place pressure on WSU Admin to come to the table to fairly negotiate our first contract. At the rallies, hundreds echoed the call for a Strike Authorization Vote to demonstrate the value of our labor and force Admin to come to agreement on wages and other economic issues.
The Strike Authorization Vote will be conducted from October 30th to November 6th.
- You might be wondering what this means, so here are some Strike Authorization Vote basics:
- An SAV will authorize our ASE bargaining committee to call a strike if circumstances warrant.
- A 2/3 majority of those voting is required for the bargaining committee to be able to call a strike.
- It is a standard process within the union to ensure that this step is taken with full participation and approval from all ASEs before we consider calling a strike.
- An SAV does not necessarily mean that we will strike.
- For additional details and questions about the SAV, please see this FAQ.
Why are we taking a Strike Authorization Vote now and what do we want to achieve?
Admin have continued to resist our efforts to make progress on our contract negotiations. They continue to delay the process of negotiating healthcare, despite the Unfair Labor Practice charge that we filed last month, and are claiming that we cannot come to an agreement on wages and other economic issues. Despite this, they have left the bargaining table for the next three weeks on an October “vacation.” It has become clear that we must continue to put pressure on them to negotiate a fair and timely contract, and are calling for a strike authorization vote (SAV), to demonstrate that ASEs at WSU stand together in demanding that WSU:
- Pay ASEs a living wage
- Protect ASEs from harassment and discrimination.
- Fairly negotiate decisions about our employment, including healthcare,at the bargaining table.
Mass participation is needed to win a strong contract!
Actions like a Strike Authorization Vote are most effective when there is mass participation. We need a strong supermajority of ASEs to vote YES. Come to a training session to learn more about the SAV, how to ensure its success, and how to talk to fellow ASEs about voting YES.
Please take 30 seconds and respond to this RSVP form so that we can focus our outreach efforts where they are most needed during the coming weeks. For your convenience, we’ve copied the training schedule out below.
If you’ve got questions about our SAV, please take a look at our FAQ and if you’ve still got questions, please reach out.
SAV Conversation Training Schedule (all via Zoom) – RSVP here:
Monday, October 9, 5pm
Wednesday, October 11, 12 pm
Thursday, October 12, 9am
Monday, October 16, 5pm
Wednesday, October 18, 12 pm
Thursday, October 19, 9am
Monday, Oct 23 5 pm
Wednesday, Oct 25, 12 pm
Thursday, Oct 26 9 am
Monday, Oct 30, 5 pm
Wednesday, Nov 1, 12 pm
Thursday, Nov 2, 9 am
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)