FAQ

Our union includes all regular employees at UA (both exempt and non-exempt), with the exception of supervisors* (of other permanent staff, not temporary or student employees) and confidential employees. If you have a question about whether your job title is included, please reach out here.

*See below for more information on who is or isn't a supervsior.

Under Alaska labor law (see 8 AAC 97.990(a)(5)) a supervisor is someone who exercises independent judgement in making decisions around employment (including hiring and firing), discipline, or grievance adjudication. This isn’t always the same as what many of us think of as our supervisor, and is actually somewhat rare.  We will not petition to include supervisors, confidential employees, or managers in our bargaining unit, but the Alaska Labor Relations Agency - not the University administration or any of us as individuals - gets to make the final decision about who is and who is not a supervisor.  This process will take place after we submit authorization cards for review.  After that, anyone who is determined to be a supervisor, manager or confidential employee will be excluded from the bargaining unit.

Yes - it might be possible for a separate supervisory unit to be formed, similar to how there are separate unions for state employees depending on whether or not they are supervisors. Many of us are signing cards because we want to increase the likelihood that we can bargain as equals with the admin. If ALRA decides that we are not eligible, our card simply won’t count and we will not be allowed to vote in the election.

Being grant-funded is not unique to staff or UA. Other unionized employees at UA (including faculty and graduate workers) have many workers who are partially or fully grant-funded. Historically, when these groups have won raises in their Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), UA includes these raises and other benefits in the cost of the CBA they present to the state legislature. The state legislature then appropriates the funding for the costs of these raises and other benefits.  Some contracts also include wage escalators further into the future, since these can be easier to anticipate in grant cycles.

Fundamentally, with collective bargaining, we have an equal say with the University administration in determining compensation or other terms/conditions of employment, so will gain far more influence in figuring out a system that works for grant funded positions.

In addition, there are several UAW locals at other institutions such as the Academic Researchers at UC and the Researchers, Scientists, and Engineers at UW that are almost entirely grant funded. Not only have these units not experienced job losses due to their unionization, but they have secured stronger job security through their CBAs, including bridge funding for PIs and greater transparency around changes that may affect their funding. By unionizing, we stand not only to win better benefits, but also stronger job security. Academic Researchers at the University of California actually had to fight for a provision that would allow them to *reduce* their FTE in the event that they needed to spread funds out (the university administration didn’t want to allow this).  

Forming a union with collective bargaining rights is the only way to have the power to negotiate with the UA Administration as equals and reach a legally binding contract.

This effort began when staff started talking together about how to improve our working conditions and decided to organize with UAW. Currently, the UA administration has unilateral control over our pay, benefits, and workplace rights. Many of us have high work loads, low pay, and few career advancement opportunities. Aspects of our jobs that we like can be changed at any time without our input. For example, remote work agreements can be cancelled abruptly and our health insurance plans can be altered without our opinions being taken into account. With a union, we gain the right to collectively bargain with UA and a greater voice in our workplace.

Recently, graduate workers at the University of Alaska came together to form UAW 1907 (also known as AGWA-UAW) and bargained a first contract which secures higher pay, full fee waivers, a clear grievance process, workload and nondiscrimination protections and much more. 

While UAW began as an auto worker union, there are now over 100,000 higher ed workers in UAW, making UAW one of the largest unions of higher ed workers in the country. Right now, staff at the University of California, University of Washington and elsewhere are forming unions with the UAW.

UAW has historically been one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. By joining this movement, staff will also gain political power to impact policy and funding decisions on the local, state, and federal levels. 

Our university system has struggled in the past, and while funding has stabilized in recent years, recent events have made once again introduced uncertainty. But this is why it’s so important to be at the table when the administration is making decisions that affect us. With a union we are legally entitled to complete, transparent information about the University’s budget so that we can be sure that we have a real say in priorities. It also enables us to make responsible choices about our contract.  

Moreover, there are a number of policies that are not directly tied to the budget (for example, remote work agreements, protection against discrimination and harassment, etc.) that we can improve only when we have the ability to bargain as equals.  

Further, as unionized workers, we will have greater power in the state legislature than we do now. Last year, the graduate workers were able to not only secure funding for their Collective Bargaining Agreement, but also helped push for increased funding for UAF to support its R1 goals. Together, we can use our voices to advocate for both ourselves and our university system.

Collective bargaining is a process, recognized and protected by state law, that equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer. After unionization, we begin that process of collective bargaining to reach a legally binding contract with the UA administration. 

Collective bargaining is a democratic process with many steps. First, we vote to elect a bargaining team of our colleagues. Then, through our participation in town halls, surveys, and discussions, the bargaining team drafts a set of initial bargaining demands. Staff then choose whether to ratify these demands The bargaining team would then negotiate with UA administration and come to a tentative contract agreement with UA. Before that agreement can go into effect, all staff have a chance to review and vote on whether or not to ratify it. If we vote to ratify the tentative agreement, then it becomes a legally enforceable contract. 

Without collective bargaining, UA has unilateral power to change our working conditions. For example, the UA administration currently decides unilaterally whether to provide staff with annual raises or not, how much we pay for parking and healthcare, what our remote-work options are (if any), etc.

We will not pay union dues until after we’ve signed authorization cards, successfully established our union through a representation election, and then bargained and democratically ratified our first contract. At that point each individual staff employee can decide whether or not to become a dues-paying member. UAW membership dues are 1.44% of gross income*.  

Dues will be an important source of power for us, and are independent resources that support our work. Union members democratically decide how union dues are spent, and create accountability: we all can and should decide whether the value of a collective bargaining agreement is worth union dues. Arguably we have paid more as a result of not having the power that comes from forming a union.

*For your staff position at UA. Income from other employers or non-staff positions at UA would not have dues deducted.

We will. A great benefit of having a union is that there are established structures and procedures for making decisions, communicating and resolving issues, and the legal and administrative structures to support and facilitate this that we can adapt to our context in Alaska. Being a chapter of a union organization does come with some rules and guidelines (to keep everything legal and copacetic), but as long as local chapter decisions fall within those, the members elected representatives of that chapter make decisions through a democratic process.

Right now we have no say and have no control over decisions that directly impact us. That distinction belongs to the University administration.

The most widespread issues that permanent staff are aiming to address are:

• Salaries not keeping up with the cost of living across Alaska

• Expensive and inadequate health insurance coverage

• Inconsistent and unprotected remote/hybrid work policies

• Unclear and inequitable promotion policies and advancement/reclassification pathways

• Workload interfering with life and lack of protections from overwork

• A lack of say over our working conditions and lack of consideration for our input

• Protections from unjust firings and retaliation

Through unionization and collective bargaining, other UAW academic workers have won:

• Guaranteed, predictable pay increases to keep up with cost of living 

• Better healthcare with improved coverage for dependents

• More transparent and enforceable career development provisions

• Stronger protections against arbitrary layoffs, the right to performance reviews

• Stronger protections against harassment and discrimination

• Childcare subsidies and more support for parents

• Workload protections

• Clear policies around remote work, vacation and sick time, and increased paid time off

• A grievance process to address contract violations in a clear and timely manner

• And much more

Yes. Your card is confidential and we will not share it with the University administration. Under Alaska state law, the Alaska Labor Relations Agency also may not share your card.

Hopefully not! A strike is something like a last ditch effort to make the point that something we are asking for is vitally important. The decision to strike (like all others within the union) is democratically made, and in Alaska, requires 50%+1 of all members of the unit to vote yes.

No. It is unlawful for employers to retaliate against employees for union activity. Unionizing, and talking to coworkers about unionizing, is legally protected. 

Like other large employers, UA has generally opposed efforts to unionize amongst its employees. That said, UA graduate workers successfully formed their union recently, and many of those involved in organizing have gained permanent positions at UA as faculty or staff.

It’s also important to note that bargaining happens with the UA Admin, not individual supervisors, so many workers have found that their relationships with supervisors have improved because they no longer have to push their supervisors to advocate to address problems stemming from decisions made higher up. 

Great! If you haven't already, you can find info here about how to get in contact with a coworker to sign a card.

Here is a basic overview to forming a union:

1. Forming a list of the bargaining unit and gathering organizers. (We are here.)

2. A card drive where at least 33% of the proposed bargaining unit needs to sign cards.

3. If 33% of the unit says yes, an election is put on. If 50% of those who vote say yes, then a union is formed.

4. The bargaining committee elected by the unit negotiates the first contract.

5. Once the contract is ratified, our union is formed and individuals can sign up to be members of our union.

If you are interested in forming a union, reach out to an organizer here. Also interested in getting involved by organizing your colleagues? We’d love to hear from you.

Ideally, with a successful card drive and election, a union could be formed within a year. However, there is the possibility of legal roadblocks and delays between the initial card drive and union election or between the union election and the first contract with the university. But the larger the majority of us who support and actively participate in the campaign, the more leverage we have to overcome obstacles. 

Awesome! Email info [at] cause-uaw [dot] org.