November 8, 2023
Congratulations again to everyone on a successful Strike Authorization Vote (SAV)!! The massive vote turnout and overwhelming YES result is a huge testament to the organizing efforts of our unit. This vote has authorized our Bargaining Committee to call a strike if circumstances warrant.
We are excited to continue conversations about the SAV with a Post-SAV Town Hall via zoom on Tuesday November 14th at 6pm. This will be a great opportunity to talk through next steps, questions you may have, and talking with others in your department. Register via this link and make sure to share with your fellow ASEs!
In the meantime, here’s some information on a few questions that we’ve had since announcing the vote:
Q: Are we going on strike now?
A: Our successful Strike Authorization Vote does not mean we are going on strike now, rather it authorizes our Bargaining Committee to call a strike if circumstances warrant. The decision to go on strike is not something that we take lightly and would involve thorough conversation amongst our unit before our Bargaining Committee were to call a strike.
Q: Have we received a response from WSU?
A: We have not yet heard from Admin on their plans to bargain fairly to reach an agreement with us. Our next bargaining session is on Nov 16 – we encourage all ASEs to attend to hear what Admin has to say (RSVP here)!
Q: How has Admin responded to our Strike Authorization Vote so far?
A: Admin sent out a press statement on Nov 7 on Nov 7 regarding the strike, along with a “common questions” page, but this statement was clearly aimed at creating confusion. We hope they understand that we would prefer not to strike, but that the way to avoid a strike is for them to bargain fairly with us, not by spreading misinformation.
Q: Is going on strike illegal?
A: Striking is not illegal. In Washington state, public-sector strikes are neither an enshrined right nor prohibited by law. Many public sector unions in Washington—including other ASEs at UW—can and do hold strike authorization votes and go on strike to win fair contracts. WSU’s press statement was worded to imply that it is illegal for us to strike, but this is not true. We expected them to use this framing to cast doubt, but we are disappointed that they would take this route rather than improving their behavior at the bargaining table.
If you have any further questions, please respond to this email or come along to the Post-SAV Town Hall on Tuesday 11/14 at 6pm via zoom!
In Solidarity,
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)
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)