Dear Faculty Colleagues,

WSU has continued our good-faith negotiations in earnest with the Academic Student Employees (ASE), who are represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW). To ensure you have up-to-date information, below are highlights of a package proposal that was presented to them last Wednesday (January 3) and information regarding a potential strike on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Additional, comprehensive information on the package can be found on the HRS Labor Relations Negotiations Update website.

January 3, 2024 Package Proposal

  • Wages 

    In WSU’s recent proposal (dated January 3, 2024), the average wage increase for ASEs on assistantship would be at least 20%. This calculation only includes the minimum step increase and application of a new minimum salary based on their work location.. It does not include the education/experience increases described further below.With an implementation date of 90 days after contract ratification, WSU agrees to accept most of UAW’s compensation package proposal levels to raise the minimum step for an assistantship to Step 59, as well as add both educational and experience compensation and locality pay. In addition, WSU accepted the UAW proposed 4% Mass Salary Increase in the second year of the Contract, but with an October 1, 2025 implementation date.

    Salary minimum steps for 50% FTE assistantship appointments. Upon implementation, all ASEs on assistantship will receive the salary below or a 5% salary increase, whichever is greater.

  • Leaves 

    WSU’s proposal extends the current paid pregnancy and parental leave to five (5) weeks from the current four (4) weeks of paid leave. ASEs on assistantships would be the only employee type who have paid leave through WSU.

  • Vacation 

    WSU’s proposal provides 48 hours of vacation time off during a nine (9) month appointment. The vacation hours are prorated for ASEs on assistantships with different durations or FTEs.

Potential Strike on January 17, 2024

Despite WSU’s significant efforts and a substantially revised economic package, the ASE posted the following on the WSU-CASE (WSU Coalition of Academic Student Employees) website on December 22, 2023, “We deserve better health coverage than what we are provided. If Admin are not able to deliver on their requirement to negotiate that coverage, we will strike on January 17th.” On January 3, 2024, their post read, “We gave Admin a January 17th deadline to give us a fair contract. If they don’t meet that deadline we are going on strike.”

WSU is disappointed by this message and proposed actions. As we have repeatedly indicated, WSU is committed to continued discussions about student healthcare insurance for ASEs. However, required third-party insurance company bid timelines, which are outside WSU’s control, must be taken into consideration.  Additionally, WSU is mindful that while ASEs on assistantship are the majority of those on the existing plan, they are not the only individuals. Any modifications WSU makes to the current plan could increase costs for the other ~33% of individuals who are not ASEs (e.g., international undergraduate and graduate students, health science students, and J1 scholars in fall 2024) covered by the plan and who must self-pay the premiums.

Should the ASEs strike next week, the instructors of record and departments/colleges are responsible for ensuring our students can attend and continue progress in their courses as smoothly as possible. Every effort should be made to ensure that the activities of conducting lectures, proctoring exams, grading exams, and other duties carried out by our graduate and teaching assistants are covered. Additional guidance will be provided by the Office of the Provost and Office of Research if a strike occurs.

As a reminder, HRS created a “Job Actions & Work Stoppage Information – Q&A” website to answer questions regarding possible job actions and work stoppages. This website is routinely updated, and I encourage you to review the same.

WSU looks forward to continuing our negotiations in good faith with ASE, and the Provost’s Office will remain in contact as additional information becomes available. Questions regarding this matter can be directed to WSU Labor Relations at hrs.labor@wsu.edu.

Again, we sincerely appreciate your leadership and partnership as we continue to support our students and our educational and research mission.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth S. Chilton
Provost and Executive Vice President
Chancellor, WSU Pullman
Professor, Department of Anthropology