UAW Postdoctoral Scholars – UW Negotiations Recap for June 12, 2026
This recap details the third session for the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the University of Washington and UAW Postdoctoral Scholars.
Employer Counter Proposals
The Employer presented a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety. The full contents of the package are outlined below:
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Article 16: Non-Discrimination and Harassment
The Employer proposed to add reference APS 46.7 – Reasonable Accommodation of Employee Pregnancy and Related Conditions and its specific provisions in the section detailing accommodations for pregnant and lactating employees and added language that the University policy on Workplace Violence would be followed but reasserted its prior proposal in the remainder of this Article.
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Article 36: Reasonable Accommodations
The Employer accepted the Union’s proposal to move language around determining employee eligibility for an accommodation but reasserted its prior proposal in the remainder of this Article.
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MOU: Empowering Prevention & Inclusive Communities (EPIC)
As part of this package proposal the Union would accept the Employer’s prior counter proposal as presented during the June 8 bargaining session.
Union Counter Proposals
Article 8: Health and Safety
The Union accepted the Employer’s general language stating the University would maintain a safe workplace free from recognized hazards consistent and in compliance with applicable state and federal laws and the Employer’s proposal to refer to https://v1cypwr8vx2.c.updraftclone.com/policies/suspended-operations/overview/ in cases of emergencies that affect University operations. The Union also accepted the Employer’s proposed language around workplace ergonomics, stating that postdocs would be able to request ergonomic assessments of their workstations. The Union proposed to move their proposed new language around bullying, and workplace psychological safety to Article 16: Non-Discrimination and Harassment. The Union also dropped its proposal to include language around mitigation measures for high indoor temperatures and air quality conditions. The Union reasserted its prior proposal for the remainder of this Article.
The Union presented a package proposal in which all provisions would need to be accepted in their entirety. The full contents of the package are outlined below:
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Article 16: Non-Discrimination and Harassment
The Union adjusted its proposed language around protected classes to state that no employee would be subjected to discrimination or harassment based on ethnic origin, political affiliation, medical condition, or membership or non-membership in a Union and proposed to include those characteristics as well as “caste” in the list of characteristics protected from discriminatory harassment. The Union reasserted its prior proposal in the remainder of this Article.
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Article 36: Reasonable Accommodations
The Union rescinded some of its proposed language around detailing the “interactive process” of determining disability accommodations and accepted the Employer’s proposal to adjust language around disability leave to state that employees on disability leave may apply eight (8) hours of paid time off per month for the duration of the approved leave, rather than the first four (4) months of leave. The Union reasserted its prior proposal for the remainder of this Article.
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MOU: Empowering Prevention & Inclusive Communities (EPIC)
The Union reasserted its proposed language changes in this MOU but accepted the Employer’s proposal to maintain this in a separate MOU.
Next Steps
The next UAW Postdoctoral Scholar and UW bargaining session is scheduled for Monday, June 29 and will be held in-person at the UDSB Gateway building.