Bargaining Session: November 25, 2019

On November 25, 2019, representatives of the University attended the twenty-first bargaining session with the union committee that represents Postdocs and ARSs.

The University presented a revised proposal on Health and Safety that specifically allows the Union-Management Committee to make recommendations to the University to address health and safety concerns.

The parties continued to discuss the Appointments and Reappointments, Leaves, Holidays, and Vacation group of proposals presented by the Union at the last session as a potential compromise. The University reiterated its reasons for not considering the group offered as a possible basis for agreement and further explained that it was not possible to guarantee appointments or reappointments for periods longer than one year because grant funding, even on multi-year grants, is guaranteed only in increments of one year. The University also noted that potential compromises would have to be made in the overall context of the Union’s other economic proposals, which are very broad and are still being assessed.

The University asked whether the Union planned to take a position with respect to the lawsuit filed by the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers Union challenging OPT and STEM-OPT programs.

The parties continued to discuss non-discrimination and health insurance for the balance of the session.

The next session is scheduled for December 11, 2019.