UW threatens to cut TA positions, union taking action TODAY

The following is from UAW Local 4121:

SEATTLE (June 2, 2016) — In the recent weeks, chairs of some departments in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington have communicated that there will be deep cuts to Teaching Assistant (TA) positions for next year, as much as 30 percent in some units. Today, UAW Local 4121 members and allies will take action to fight back.

TAKE A STAND — Union members and community supporters are invited to join UAW Local 4121 members as they take action today, starting at 10 a.m. on the Quad of the UW Seattle campus.

“In my Department of Anthropology we’re being told that there will be a huge drop in positions because TA funding has been cut all across Arts and Sciences,” says Andrea Canini, UAW 4121 bargaining committee member.  “If they go through with this it will affect students learning conditions, and is already affecting the lives of graduate students like me who were expecting support next year.  Finding out about cuts like this now when there isn’t much time to find other positions means we face having to go further in debt.”

The union filed a demand to bargain to prevent these cuts, and is demanding accountability and transparency from the University.

“The University’s overall budget is robust, so these announcements in recent weeks are outrageous,” says David Parsons, Local 4121 President.  “If some administrators have mismanaged their budgets they’re going to need to find other ways to balance than putting TAs on the chopping block.”