SEATTLE — University of Washington faculty are talking about unionizing, in part because campus leaders have proposed some unpopular changes in the university’s salary policies.
Although faculty at other universities in the state have formed unions, many have assumed unionization of UW faculty was unlikely because of the diversity of their teaching and research jobs.
The UW chapter of the American Association of University Professors voted on Wednesday to launch the unionization effort.
After merit raises at the university were suspended because of the economic downturn, UW President Mark Emmert proposed a change in university policy that could make getting any raise more difficult for faculty.
Emmert has proposed that both merit and annual raises be awarded “only if the Board of Regents in its sole discretion determines there are sufficient funds and approves a budget that expressly provides for such increases.”
Emmert and the Faculty Senate leaders said the new wording was intended to smooth the way for future raise suspensions during dire economic times and to protect the UW from lawsuits.
Mathematics professor Jack Lee, who led the vote against the new wording, said he’d “never heard so much doubt that the administration has our best interests at heart.” Lee said the change in faculty mood over the past two weeks has been dramatic.
Between 1935 and 1948, dozens of UW faculty belonged to a local of the American Federation of Teachers.
Local 401 broke up after six University of Washington instructors were subpoenaed to appear before the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee to face charges of being members of the Communist Party.
Eventually, three of the six professors were fired and the AFT national office revoked the charter of Local 401 after the hearings.
Janelle Taylor, president of the UW chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said a surprising number of faculty who have opposed unionizing in the past seem to be willing to take another look.
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