Bargaining FAQ

• Following the certification of election results on April 7th 2026, we are now in a state of “Dynamic Status Quo” (DSQ) until we ratify our first contract. DSQ is a legal framework to ensure that workers can’t be penalized or rewarded for forming a union. DSQ prohibits our employer from making changes to terms and conditions of employment that they hadn’t regularly made or approved before the petition was filed.

• This is not the same as a freeze. UA is legally obligated to continue existing practices. If you believe UA is violating DSQ, please use this form below to get in touch with a member of the organizing committee and we can get started on next steps.

Great question! By selecting the bargaining and election committees before the academic year ends, when many staff go on leave, we can ensure continuity and maintain momentum after our successful election. The democratic process of deciding on our bargaining priorities will take some time, so the sooner we start, the sooner we get to the bargaining table, and the sooner we will see the benefits of our first contract.

Collective bargaining is a process, recognized and protected by state law, that equalizes the power relationship between employees and their employer. Now that we have formed our union, we have begun that process of collective bargaining to reach a legally binding contract with the UA administration. 

In this time between certification of our union and ratification of our first contract, UA must maintain the “status quo” of our current working conditions. That means that we go into contract negotiations with our current conditions as the starting point. Then, we decide democratically what we want to keep about those conditions and what we want to improve. We can propose changes, and the employer can propose changes, but no changes can go into effect without a vote of all in-unit staff.  Every step of the way, all of us will have a say - we will democratically elect our bargaining team, vote on our bargaining priorities, and vote to ratify a final contract.

UA Staff, with the support of experienced UAW negotiators. 

CAUSE-UAW and the UA Administration will each have a bargaining team who will meet and negotiate. Our bargaining team will be composed of democratically elected UA Staff who will engage in continuous discussion with unit members, conduct research, draft proposals, and eventually negotiate a tentative contract that will be voted on by all members of CAUSE-UAW. 

All permanent UA Staff will have opportunities to take part in the process through our bargaining survey, voting to ratify the initial bargaining demands, and joining the Contract Action Team (CAT) to continue shaping our strategy. Bargaining updates will be frequently sent by email and posted on this webpage/social media sites. Once the bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with the University, we will vote on whether to ratify the contract.

There is no set timeline for this process. For reference, the Academic Researchers who unionized with UAW in 2019 were able to win their first union contract in just 6 months. The Student Researchers who unionized with UAW in 2021 were able to win their first union contract in 12 months. The more UA Staff are able to demonstrate unity and power through collective action, the sooner we can win concessions from the University that UA Staff want to ratify in a contract.

The start date for bargaining will be agreed upon by UA and the CAUSE-UAW bargaining team once they are elected. In these sessions, the CAUSE-UAW Bargaining Committee and the UA’s bargaining team present proposals to each other which can either be accepted or replied to with a counter proposal. 

Once a proposal is agreed to, it is set aside as a “tentative agreement” on one article of the eventual contract. When both sides have agreed on all outstanding articles, a tentative agreement is returned to UA Staff for a ratification vote. Once we and the UA approve of the tentative agreement, the contract is signed and becomes legally binding.

It’s important that bargaining priorities come from the issues that matter most to all workers. The priorities will be based on the input thousands of UA Staff share in our bargaining survey.  However, bargaining is a dynamic process and workers particularly interested in winning a strong contract should join the Contract Action Team (CAT), which will be essential to keeping workers informed during the contract campaign so we can continue to make decisions together.

There are over 125,000 academic workers organized with UAW nationwide. Many of them are grant-funded and have won a great deal in terms of wages, benefits, and protections in their union contracts. For example, Researchers, Scientists, and Engineers at the University of Washington (UAW 4121), who just formed their union and won their first contract in 2023, won the following across the life of their first contract, and more. You can check out their full contract here.

• ~28% increases to the salary range minimums of all job titles

• Across the board increases for everyone to keep up with costs of living and make up ground for lost wage increases (no less than 12.5% for people above the minimums)

• Increased Layoff Notice, rehire rights, and increased transparency around potential funding lapse

• Access to bridge funding for PIs

Just this year, staff at the University of California won their first contract, which includes some of the following highlights:

• A minimum of a 28% wage increase for all in-unit workers over the life of the contract

• Pathway to conversion for all current contract and limited appointment employees to career positions with layoff rights and full benefits

• Every employee entitled to a clear job description and timely reviews for promotion as job responsibilities increase

• Fair standards for maintaining existing remote/flexible agreements, including informal, ad-hoc agreements between managers and staff

• Accountability for anti-discrimination, bullying, and harassment policies through neutral third-party arbitration

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,  and 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. For more details on other academic union contracts, check out our comparison chart.

The best way for UA Staff  to get involved in the contract campaign is by joining the Contract Action Team (CAT)! CAT members publicly and visibly participate in the contract campaign, keep their coworkers informed about what’s going on in bargaining, mobilize their coworkers to take action throughout the campaign, and help to identify others who can play the same role. If you would like to join the CAT, please complete the bargaining survey and check the box that says, "I would like to learn more about getting further involved with CAUSE-UAW, including being a Contract Action Team (CAT) member or participating in various working groups."

We're unaware of any legal prohibition against UA providing a pay increase.  We understand that Admin has claimed that giving raises to unionized staff this year is not possible, but we know of other instances where a state employer and union agreed to pay increases prior to a complete CBA being ratified. Here's one example of such an agreement between the University of Washington and UAW 4121.  It could be that Admin does not want to provide the increase if we unionize, but this is different from Admin being prevented.

Not without agreement between us and UA. UA cannot make unilateral changes to our working conditions for the duration of contract negotiations unless we agree to the new terms as a union. 

Pay equity is a common priority in collective bargaining. Staff can propose solutions such as salary adjustments, step structures, or equity reviews to address compression and inversion. These priorities will come directly from staff input and be negotiated as part of the contract. 

Yes. The University can continue existing practices, including merit or performance-based increases, unless and until changes are negotiated in a contract. In some cases, such raises may require some kind of formal agreement through our union, in order for UA to fulfill its duty to bargain.

The bargaining committee is designed to ensure broad and balanced representation across the UA system, rather than strictly proportional representation. The structure includes:

• 2 UAA representatives

• 2 UAF representatives

• 2 UAS representatives

• 2 System Office representatives

• 3 representatives from rural or community campuses

• 3 at-large representatives (open to anyone)

This structure aims to ensure that all campuses and types of roles have a voice, while also allowing flexibility through at-large positions. Staff will vote democratically to elect each of these representatives.

The bargaining process is designed to be inclusive. Representation comes from elected staff across different roles and locations, and priorities are shaped through surveys, meetings, and working groups. Members of the Bargaining Committee are UA staff and are reachable and responsive.