 |
|
|
|
|
|
Local Leaders Slam UW Policies and Actions Toward Workers
On Saturday, October 12th, UW received stark criticism at a Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board (WRB) Hearing examining whether the UW is accountable to our community.
This WRB Hearing consisted of a panel of prominent UW community and elected leaders who heard and addressed the difficulties that workers face on campus and at Harborview. WRB Members included Congressperson Jim McDermott, Representative Maralyn Chase, former Seattle NAACP President Oscar Eason, Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Port Commissioner Lawrence Molloy, David Nixon, Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) President, and Aiko Schaeffer, Statewide Poverty Action Network (SPAN) Director.
A broad range of workers from the UW and Harborview testified about threats to their rights to organize, layoffs, cuts in health benefits and unsafe working conditions.
Testimony included speakers from:
- American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
- Graduate Student Employees Action Coalition (GSEAC/UAW)
- Professional Staff Organization (PSO)
- Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 925
- Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199NW
- Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE/AFSCME) Local 1488
All of the board members expressed their support of workers’ rights, many having previously been in union positions themselves. McDermott pointed out that UW is the No. 1 recipient of federal funds, and wondered about the possibility that the federal legislature might have more influence over the situation, since teaching and research assistants are paid with federal funds. After hearing Herzmark’s testimony, board member Molloy expressed concern over the safety conditions at UW, especially with UW being a potential lessee of the port’s Interbay facility.
This hearing comes at a critical time for University of Washington (UW) and Harborview Medical Center employees. Last spring, after a 25-year campaign, the State Legislature passed three laws granting faculty, academic student employees and state employees the right to collectively bargain for the first time in state history. Despite these pieces of ground-breaking legislation, the future of the UW Administration and nearly 20,000 University workers is still uncertain.
During the board’s testimony and discussion periods, UW administration representation was low. UW President Richard McCormick and other top administrators, who received invitations about two weeks before the hearing, were not in attendance.
However, Vice Provost Steven Olswang did attend Honey’s speech at the beginning of Saturday’s events, but left shortly thereafter. Danny Kraus, associate director for personnel services of labor relations, remained throughout the board proceedings but offered no comments on behalf of the UW.
The Workers' Rights Board Hearing was part of a two-day conference on October 11 and 12, hosted by the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. The goal of the conference, entitled “Building for Our Future: The Unions and Professional Organizations of UW and Harborview Medical Center,” was to bring together faculty, staff and students at the UW and Harborview to build a better future for the employees, students, and patients.
The conference provided useful information about the effects of new legislation, solidarity and inter-union activity, resource allocation at UW, and collective bargaining.
Friday, October 11th: The Friday session, beginning at 3:00 PM in Smith Hall, room 120, considered the state of various kinds of unions and faculty organizations across the United States, focusing particular attention upon the shape of faculty organizations and conditions at the UW. Pat Shaw, American Association of University Professors (AAUP) staff attorney, Jim Sullivan, former President of the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Faculty Association who helped lead the 1998 election victory for faculty bargaining, and Marcus Harvey, west coast field representative of AAUP and former Vice-President for Bargaining in the United Faculty of Florida were just a few of the discussion participants.
Saturday, October 12th: Saturday, from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM in Mary Gates Hall, room 241, the Bridges Center, campus unions and community organizations held a day of presentations, workshops and plenary discussions on the issues affecting campus workers today. Workshops topics included:
- Student Labor Action
- Winning the Right to Collectively Bargain
- Organizing for the Future
Many feel that labor relations at the University of Washington do not always reflect the core values of the institution. Complaints of increasing anti-labor and anti-union sentiment, a loss of the UW's reputation for fairness and respect to all of its employees and students, and concern about campus priorities in a time of budget cuts are cropping up. These two days of discussion allowed people to assemble while communicating across boundaries of work place and discipline, in a new climate affecting work conditions and teaching all across the U.S.
More information on UW campus unions can be found at http://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/uwunions/
|
|
|
|
