United Faculty of Evergreen NEWS Release 10/31/06

Evergreen professors vote to unionize

Faculty members at The Evergreen State College have voted to form a union for collective bargaining.

The United Faculty of Evergreen is the fourth faculty union among Washington's public colleges and universities. Professors and instructors at Central, Eastern and Western Washington universities have organized unions in the last two years.

A 2002 law gave faculty members the right to collectively bargain. Faculty members at Central and Eastern recently negotiated collective bargaining agreements, the first under the new law.

Evergreen union supporters announced the vote results today. UFE will represent approximately 260 faculty members.

“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. “To the administration, we pledge to negotiate with you as equals under the faculty collective bargaining law. We pledge to bargain in good faith and to work together to achieve Evergreen’s mission.”

UFE is affiliated with the Washington Education Association, National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers and AFT Washington, AFL-CIO. The United Faculty of Washington State is the statewide organization for faculty unions, representing approximately 2,200 faculty members statewide and educating 34,000 students.

Contact: Laurie Meeker, 360-259-8139
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