TA strike called for Friday

Monday's deadline for the meet-and-confer talks between the UW and the Graduate Student Employee Action Coalition, affiliated with the United Auto Workers (GSEAC/UAW), passed.

Still without a fully enforceable contract through a neutral third party, GSEAC/UAW's bargaining team called for a strike beginning Friday, June 1, if its demands remain unmet over the next three days.

"We certainly care about our students and we're working hard to try and avert a strike," said Kristin Intemann, spokesperson for GSEAC/UAW. "But if the University continues to resist, we are willing to strike this week."

On May 11, GSEAC/UAW completed its strike authorization vote, with 1,066 TAs in favor of a strike if necessary. The vote authorized the GSEAC/UAW bargaining committee to call a strike if GSEAC/UAW did not receive a fully enforceable contract with the UW through a neutral third party by the agreement deadline.

Under the meet-and-confer agreement, signed Dec. 5, 2000, GSEAC/UAW agreed not to strike, under the provision the UW send collective-bargaining legislation to Olympia and continue negotiations through the winter and spring. While the collective-bargaining legislation failed in Olympia earlier this spring, the UW and GSEAC/UAW continued their talks, and even extended the agreement deadline to May 28.

With the deadline set for yesterday, GSEAC/UAW can now strike at any time, however the strike date set for Friday allows the UW to make last-minute concessions, or for the union to agree to the UW's offer.

"We wanted to give the University a few more days (following the agreement deadline)," Intemann said of GSEAC/UAW's decision to wait until June 1 to strike. "If we strike, it will certainly have an impact on undergraduate education."

Local labor unions and some UW academic departments are backing TAs in their desire for a fully enforceable contract with the UW, even if it means a TA walkout. Cynthia Steele, chair of the Spanish and Portuguese studies department, sent an e-mail to UW President McCormick last week asking him to "do everything within [his] power to avert a strike."

In her e-mail, dated May 14, Steele wrote the department professors would refuse to teach their classes if any TAs or faculty members are penalized in the event of a strike.

According to Steele, the Spanish and Portuguese studies department has a history of labor organization and is fully backing GSEAC/UAW.

"While we understand how disruptive a strike can be, we stand behind our TAs' right to organize and to strike," Steele wrote. "And we resolve to support them if they should decide to do so."

The language department e-mail came a week before a May 21 mass e-mail sent by McCormick concerning the possible TA strike. McCormick assured the campus, just like he did in November, that should the members of GSEAC/UAW strike May 29: "We will do everything in our power to minimize the effects of a strike on your education, to support your learning and to reduce disruption to your plans."

McCormick assured the campus "will remain open and functioning" while the administration faces "this challenge, both in completing the work of spring quarter and in dealing fairly with our teaching assistants, graders, readers and tutors."