About signing a union authorization card
WAWU-UAW is the collective union of all student employees at WWU. When a majority of a group of student employees signs union cards to authorize our representation by UAW, the Public Employee Relations Commission will count the cards and approve a petition to form a bargaining unit. Operational student employees can then begin bargaining with WWU.
Bargaining a first contract has several steps:
- WWU operational student employees elect a bargaining committee made up of our peers;
- The bargaining committee conducts surveys of what operational student employees would like a contract to address;
- Based on surveys, the bargaining committee drafts initial bargaining proposals and seeks democratic approval from operational student employees;
- WWU operational student employees participate with the bargaining committee in the contract campaign;
- WWU operational student employees decide what to bargain for and what the terms of the contract are, including dues and fees as well as salaries, workplace rights, and benefits;
- Once a collective bargaining agreement has been negotiated, all WWU operational student employees can vote to approve or reject the agreement to decide if it goes into effect (or if the bargaining committee must continue to bargain a better contract).
No one will be asked to pay any dues or fees until the collective bargaining agreement has been approved by a vote of WWU Student Employees. In the UAW, dues for members are 1.44% of gross income.
If you have questions or want to get more involved, email: contact@wawu-union.org, and check out https://www.wawu-union.org for more information.