For over 20 years, UAW members have been organizing to make the University of Washington a better place to work in service of the common good. Currently, UAW is the union of 8,000 employees at the University of Washington, including professional research staff and scientists, academic student employees, postdocs, and more. And that number continues to grow as more groups of workers come together to form new bargaining units and negotiate sweeping improvements to their workplaces. Right now, UW employees across many job classifications are currently organizing to join the majority of unionized workers. You can too.
Why UAW?
UAW is a worker-led, democratic union run by members, for members. From talking with colleagues, to deciding to form a union, serving on the bargaining committee or voting on the first contract, workers at UW run all aspects of this union. Through this approach, more and more workers are continuing to build on UAW’s legacy as one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. Learn more here about what UAW members have accomplished at UW.
Raising Standards Through Union Contracts
As part of UAW, over 125,000 higher education workers are building a movement to raise workplace standards and increase funding for higher education and research. Through hundreds of conversations between coworkers, UW professional staff have noticed many similarities in the issues we face across campus and job titles. UW workers in non-union titles are vulnerable to arbitrary and disruptive changes to our working conditions, but as soon as we form a union with UAW, the UW can no longer make unilateral changes without our consent. We gain the power to negotiate as equals over all aspects of our working conditions. And once we democratically vote on our collective bargaining agreement, the terms of our compensation, benefits and working conditions are secured such that we can plan for the future with greater certainty and ease.
Staff Organizing on the Rise
– 2,000 Research Staff at UW won first contracts in 2023 and 2025
– 7,200 Research and Public Service Professionals at UC voted in a majority-participation election to join UAW
– 5,000 Student Services and Advising Professionals at UC joined UAW with supermajority support in April 2025
– 600 Faculty and Staff at California Institute for the Arts in Los Angeles won their union election with a resounding 92% YES vote and over 75% of workers participating.
– Researchers at the Allen Institute in Seattle, are forming a union (AIU-UAW), and launched their card authorization campaign with a rally and organizing drive.
– 2,500 Staff at University of Alaska are in the process of forming a statewide union.
– 26 other Staff units have already bargained contracts that have raised workplace standards across higher education
More on Unionized Workers in the News
- Gallup: More in U.S. See Unions Strengthening and Want It That Way
- Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education
- Unionization efforts pick up across US universities
- NPR: Support for Labor Unions is at a 57-year high
- Nature: NIH researchers vote to form a union for the first time
- Seattle Times: UW researchers, engineers, postdocs reach tentative agreements
- The Stand: UW Research Coordinators & Consultants win union
- As Universities Fold to Trump, This Union Is Still Fighting for International Students