Road Map

Current Stage: Celebrating!

On June 22, 2021 the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) counted the membership cards submitted by UW Libraries Union. The majority of Libraries professional staff, librarians, and UW Press staff have signed union cards, and we have won our union!

Next up: Building a bargaining committee

Previous Stage: Card Count

On June 10, 2021, UW Labor Relations sent a notice to all eligible employees that the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) will be conducting an election by card check to answer the question of whether these employees want to be represented by UW Libraries Union for collective bargaining purposes. In the card check, PERC will compare employment records containing employee's signatures with the cards submitted by the union. UW is required to submit these records to PERC by June 21, 2021. UW will never see the cards themselves.

PERC will count the cards on or after June 22, 2021. If >50% of eligible employees have signed membership cards when PERC counts them, we will have passed the card check, and won our union!

Previous Stage: Investigation Conference

There are two paths to unionization in Washington State - card check or a secret ballot election. Both start the same way - by at least 30% of the workers who are trying to organize showing their support and solidarity by signing union membership cards.

UW Libraries Union has met that threshold, and so on November 24, 2020, we filed a recognition petition with the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC).

When PERC and UW received the petition, "laboratory conditions" began. This means our wages, benefits, and working conditions must stay the same until the question of unionization has been decided.

We are currently negotiating with UW Labor Relations for the Investigation Conference. This is the process that determines who is eligible to be a part of the new union. Our end goal is to have a list of eligible members, agreed on by both sides, which we will submit to PERC.

Once eligibility is determined, and the union and UW have come to agreement, PERC will count the membership cards that have been submitted. UW never sees these cards, nor are they told who signed. If >50% of those eligible for membership have signed cards, we have passed the card check and won our union!