SEIU 925 members at the University of Washington voted “NO” by 83.3% on a contract offer and will picket across all UW campuses tomorrow. The union members are part of the UW’s classified staff bargaining unit, which includes laboratory technicians, campus security staff, medical interpreters, social workers, researchers, administrative staff, and other essential employees across UW’s academic and medical systems.
“This is on UW,” said Dale Siewert, a medical laboratory scientist and SEIU 925 chapter president. “They need to get back to the bargaining table ASAP with real solutions. Frankly, people are tired of being undervalued and underappreciated. There’s a real crisis in staffing and safety because people can’t afford to keep working at UW. While we disagree with the University that there’s no money to recruit or retain quality staff, there are other ways UW can invest in its workers. But they need to give us something, anything, that shows us that they realize we are the ones who keep UW running.”
WHO: University of Washington employees represented by SEIU 925
WHAT: Pickets across UW campus system
WHEN: Thursday, October 1 from 12:00-1:00pm
WHERE: various locations, including:
- UWMC (at the corner of Montlake and Pacific)
- Harborview Medical Center
- Red Square on the Seattle campus
Bargaining started in June. The last scheduled bargaining session was September 21, where UW presented their “last, best, and final” offer. The University’s own financial reports show $2 Billion in unrestricted funds; but their proposal offered no wage increases, no possible wage reopeners over two years, no additional PTO, no AI protections, and little else that might comfort workers facing rising costs of living. The union bargaining team felt they could not accept the offer as a Tentative Agreement and took it to a direct vote of the membership.
Now that members have rejected the offer, both sides will need to schedule bargaining sessions and continue contract negotiations.
“UW is clearly making a conscious decision not to invest in its workers,” added Siewert. “We urge them to get back to the bargaining table.”