President Ana Mari Cauce
University of Washington
301 Gerberding Hall
Box 351230
Seattle, WA 98195

CC:  Governor Jay Inslee
King County Executive Dow Constantine
Board of Regents, Directors, Deans, Chancellors, Provosts, and other administrators throughout the UW
Dear President Cauce:

Since the confirmation of the first case of COVID-19 in the US on January 20, Washington State has been on the leading edge of a pandemic that has now reached every state in the nation. As we adjust to daily-changing guidelines and restrictions concerning public gatherings in schools, churches, places of business, and the public sphere in general, we are facing not only the greatest public-health crisis but also, potentially, the greatest statewide economic crisis in generations. Nonetheless, despite sitting on an endowment of nearly $3 billion, despite being the fifth-largest employer in the state, and despite the unprecedented challenges facing all Washingtonians, the University of Washington is considering layoffs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the non-medical workers who cannot telework are most likely to be workers of color or immigrants, and already struggling with wages that do not keep up with the rising cost of living. Therefore, to lay off workers who cannot telework is by default to further marginalize the most vulnerable workers and to disproportionately harm workers of color. 

We are employees of the University of Washington, members of labor unions, UW students and alumni from all three campuses, and concerned community members. We write to urge you to guarantee continued employment and wages for all UW employees--student employees, classified staff, professional staff, academic staff, and faculty--through the duration of this crisis. In a time like this, it is imperative that the UW honor its social and ethical obligations by taking the following actions:
  • Recognize that all impacts of COVID-19 will fall most heavily on marginalized and under-represented populations at the UW, and actively work to ensure that all actions taken are considered through a lens of racial and gender justice.
  • Reinstate employment, wages, and benefits for any and all UW employees who have been laid off in 2020.
  • Guarantee that all students employed by the UW in any capacity continue receiving their paychecks, and that all students throughout the university have access to the social, material, economic, and medical support necessary to maintain their wellbeing throughout the crisis.
  • Honor all scholarships and fellowships awarded to UW students, including athletic scholarships awarded to student-athletes who are now unable to compete through no fault of their own.
  • Ensure that all classified, professional, and academic staff at the UW, regardless of their ability to work remotely or to otherwise perform their regular duties through the pandemic, continue receiving wages and benefits that they currently receive.
  • Provide access to safe childcare in a nurturing, licensed environment. The UW should repurpose currently unused buildings for childcare, as many K-12 public school districts are doing, as well as provide subsidies to defray the cost of childcare for employees who place their children in family childcare centers.
  • Continue to bargain in good faith with all campus unions over all impacts of COVID-19, with an eye toward the public good. When temporary work reassignments are possible, the UW must continue to bargain with the respective unions over how those reassignments will be handled. When temporary reassignments are not possible, the UW must continue to pay employees the wages, benefits, and pension contributions they need to weather this pandemic.
  • Work through appropriate avenues of shared governance, such as the Faculty Senate, to mitigate the impact on faculty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and make exceptions to policies concerning enrollment to avoid course cancellations for Part-Time Lecturers and other contingent faculty whose positions are most immediately threatened by the impact of COVID-19.
  • Collaborate with advocacy groups for non-represented employees, such as the Professional Staff Organization, on solutions to the crisis. Further, the UW should use agreements reached with campus labor unions as a guide to equitable, just solutions for non-union workers.
The University of Washington prides itself on being a leader not just in research and teaching, but also in social justice and civic responsibility. Layoffs at the UW would threaten the livelihoods and even the long-term career prospects of too many dedicated employees and send dangerous ripple effects throughout an already precarious local economy.  Now more than ever, the UW must live up to its obligations.

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