OSE Bargaining Committee Elections Announcement
Nominations for the OSE Bargaining Committee are now open. Accept your nomination before the deadline on Wednesday, July 17th!
Accept your OSE Bargaining Committee Nomination using THIS FORM
The Bargaining Committee (BC) is the elected group of union members that leads our union in negotiations for a contract with Western’s central administration. In WAWU, bargaining is not a process that occurs between two lawyers behind closed doors, it’s a participatory process with hundreds of members weighing in on priorities, attending negotiations, and having democratic conversations about our demands and strategies. Within that, the Bargaining Committee are the ones who meet with Western’s admin to negotiate as well as doing related research and reporting back to the wider community.
Bargaining Committee Position Description
During active bargaining ,The Bargaining Committee as a whole will meet regularly with meets with Western’s admin at least once a week to negotiate the trajectory and terms of our contract as employees of the university. As a BC member, you will be expected to attend these meetings with admin, as they fit into your schedule.
Outside of sessions with WWU Administrators, BC duties include:
- Reading through information supplied by WWU admin
- Sending out updates to general membership about how negotiation is going
- Gathering testimony from general membership about specific issues
- Researching relevant legal and workers rights issues
- Doing outreach to make negotiations accessible to general membership
Members of the Bargaining Committee team work together to make our first contract strong. We all have our own strengths that come together to create a cohesive, formidable unit! If you’re interested in joining the BC, there will be a unique niche that your particular skill set will fill – regardless of your previous experience.
Come to the interested candidate information session on
Tuesday, July 16th at 5pm in Miller Hall 139
if you want to learn more about being on the BC before accepting your nomination.
BC members will get training and support from experienced union negotiators, and will constantly be backed up by the membership of the union. During the height of bargaining, it’s a serious time commitment, and requires an on-campus presence.
Open Positions
At our most recent organizing committee meeting, OSEs voted for our first Bargaining Committee be filled with 12 seats – 1 for every 100 OSEs in our bargaining unit. Every one of those seats is available to be filled in this first election.
Election Timeline
Nomination Period: Wednesday, July 10th – Sunday, July 21st at 11:59 PM
In the nomination period, every member who meets the eligibility criteria will be automatically nominated, and needs to just accept their nomination through this form. Eligibility criteria is as follows: the member has signed an authorization card at the time of accepting nomination, is a current student at Western, has worked in an OSE position within the past 2 years, and is able to have an on campus presence. Once a nomination has been accepted, the elections committee will verify eligibility and candidates will be notified and be publicly listed on the website, updated each day. Accepted Nominations will be posted at wawu-union.org/elections and elections for contested positions will be held on Wednesday through Friday, July 24th – 26th.
Campaign Period: Monday, July 22nd – Tuesday, July 23rd
If more than 12 candidates accept their nominations there will be time for candidates to campaign to receive one of the Bargaining Committee seats. Candidates may start campaigning at any time, and will have until Sunday, July 21st at 11:59 PM to submit a candidate statement and photo. Afterwards, an email will be sent out to all members with everyones’ candidate statements, bios, and photos attached, so everyone has equal access to communicate with the membership. Candidates during this time may table, post flyers, talk to people, text and phone their friends but may not campaign during official union meetings or use union resources including numbers and emails sourced from union lists. Campaigning is a great way to spread awareness about the causes and directions you want to champion as a leader; we believe it’s possible to delineate clear differences with other candidates while also maintaining a comradely spirit as we all work toward the same goal.
Election Dates: Wednesday, July 24th – Friday, July 26th
If more than 12 OSEs accept their nomination, voting will be done via email, sent out to all general members on Wednesday July 24th, and through a secure digital voting platform. Bargaining Committee members will be elected in order of votes received. Anyone who has signed an authorization card, is a current student at Western, and has worked in an OSE position within the past 2 years are eligible to vote, and may cast votes for up to 12 nominated BC candidates.
Questions? Email us at .
OSE BC ELECTION UPDATE 7/17
Members of the Operational Student Employee (OSE) Organizing Committee (OC) voted at the OC meeting on Wednesday night to extend the Nomination Period for our first OSE Bargaining Committee (BC) elections from Wednesday, July 17th to Sunday, July 21st.
Here is the updated OSE BC election timeline:
Nomination Period: Wednesday, July 10th – Sunday, July 21st at 11:59pm
Campaign Period: Monday, July 22nd – Tuesday, July 23rd at 11:59pm
Election Period: Wednesday, July 24th – Friday, July 26th at 11:59pm