Full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty at Evergreen State College voted Oct. 31 for representation by the United Faculty of Washington State (UFWS), a joint statewide union that is affiliated with AFT Washington, the Washington Education Association, the AFT and the NEA. The vote was 113 to 91 in a unit of 260.

Laurie Meeker, a member of faculty in film and video, said representatives of the United Faculty of Evergreen organizing committee had contacted every single member of the unit since filing cards May 1 petitioning for an election.  The vote reflected faculty's dissatisfaction with salaries and increasing workloads, concerns, she added, that the state legislature has some responsibility for addressing in their funding decisions. "People want some way to strengthen the faculty voice," she said, both on campus and in the state capital.

"UFE ran a positive campaign based on Evergreen traditions of collaborative discussion, debate, and deliberation and we pledge to continue listening to and working with all our faculty colleagues across campuses, planning units, programs and disciplines," said Jose Gomez, who teaches constitutional law. The next step for the union is to conduct a bargaining survey and generate more ideas.

This was the fourth election in the state college and university system since Washington passed a collective bargaining law in 2002. Evergreen joins faculty at Central, Eastern and Western Washington universities, who have all voted for United Faculty representation. The UFWS represents approximately 2,200 faculty members. [Barbara McKenna, Laurie Meeker, Sylvia Watson]

November 2, 2006