On the first day of spring quarter at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle campus on Monday, librarians and press staff walked out to demand a fair contract. The workers, represented by SEIU 925, are employees of UW Libraries, UW Press, and the Gallagher Law Library. The proposals exchanged between the two sides reveal a familiar stinginess from the university—which is the 4th biggest employer in Washington State with an endowment of $6.3 billion.
This isn’t the first time these bargaining units have been at odds. In October 2022, UW librarians and press staff went on a one-day strike, claiming they were paid 20 percent less than colleagues at other major universities. Three months later in January 2023, minutes before another strike began, they agreed to a new contract averaging around 14 percent in wage increases.
In the three years since, inflation has risen over seven percent—effectively cutting their hard-earned raise in half. But UW doesn’t appear to be interested in helping their employees keep up.
Publicly posted bargaining updates show that in the first bargaining session on December 2, the union offered a 12 percent wage increase over the next two years: five percent on signing, four percent in 2027, and three percent in 2028. Two sessions later on January 6, the university finally countered with their proposal of only a meager three percent raise over the next two years: one percent now, one percent in 2027, and one percent in 2028.
At the last bargaining session on March 25, union reps slightly reduced their proposal to four percent, three-point-five percent, and three percent raises over the next two years. UW’s offer remained essentially unchanged, ticking up to only a two percent raise on signing, two percent in 2027, and one percent in 2028.
University spokesperson Victor Balta says after receiving this proposal, the meeting “ended with the union representatives abruptly leaving and not engaging with scheduling an additional bargaining date.”
The two sides jointly filed for mediation the next day.
“Librarians and UW press workers make the UW institution work. Full stop. The research, the resources, the access to knowledge that UW is proud of—none of that happens without them,” Seattle City Councilwoman and UW alum Alexis Mercedes-Rinck, who spoke at the walkout, says to The Stranger via email.
The workers, represented by SEIU 925, were also joined by state legislator Shaun Scott, who represents the 43rd district that includes the UW campus. Scott, also a UW alum, spoke to The Stranger about saving UW from higher education funding cuts in this year’s legislative session.
“I believe I speak for many of my colleagues in saying that we did not put this work in for UW to gatekeep public funds by lowballing the laborers who make the university run,” he writes in a text message. “They deserve a fair contract yesterday.”
The university’s cheapness at the bargaining table is unsurprising given the school’s recent take on labor relations. Last July, UW had to repay $1.1 million after violating state law by withholding scheduled raises to discourage a union organizing campaign among academic advisers. In January, Husky Health Center nurses reported that a strike was imminent after working without a contract since June 2025. And UW resident physicians recently ratified a contract with a 10.5 percent pay bump, but only after almost a year of bargaining.
“The UW boasts big values in every brochure, every speech, every welcome address,” says Mercedes-Rinck. “It’s time those values are reflected in this contract.”
