Wellesley Organized Academic Workers (WOAW-UAW) Union is likely to begin a strike this Thursday, March 27, after both parties failed to agree on key issues including compensation and workload.
This follows the 24th bargaining session between the Union and the College held earlier this afternoon. The session included WOAW’s presentation of a comprehensive package of all current proposals and discussions with the College on these high-priority issues.
WOAW proposed to meet for an additional bargaining session tomorrow to avert a strike, but the College declined to meet before Thursday. While a strike has not been officially announced, WOAW members expressed in statements to the News that one is likely to follow.
The College’s latest proposal for starting salary stands at $68,000 for Visiting Lecturers and $72K for lecturers, while WOAW’s latest proposal stands at $88,000 for Visiting and “Tier 1” lecturers.
The College’s offer also includes an “additional $10,000 increase over two years” for the new five-course workload standard, an across-the-board wage increase of 2.75% and an additional 1.5% increase for each year at the College for newly hired employees.
In an email statement to The News, the College described this offer as “a bold new package proposal” that included “unprecedented increases in compensation for union agreement on a five course annual teaching load for all unit members.”
The College also stated that it made “serious movement” toward the Union’s proposal on discrimination and harassment, such as by adding stand-alone protections from bullying for the first time.
According to an email statement from Erin Battat, Senior Lecturer in the Writing Program and a member of the bargaining committee, the College proposed a five-course workload with a $10,000 increase to the base salary during today’s bargaining session. This is equivalent to what non-tenure track professors currently receive when electing to teach a fifth course.
“The College’s proposal makes working overtime the new, required norm,” Battat wrote. “We had hoped that Wellesley was serious about their claims to care about averting a strike, but their actions at the bargaining prove otherwise.”
A spokesperson for the College told The News that a campus-wide announcement will also be sent out on Wednesday morning regarding the state of bargaining and the possible strike. Members of the bargaining units may choose whether to strike.
“We would rather be teaching, but the College’s conduct has left us with no choice. We are prepared to join the picket lines on Thursday morning,” said Battat.
During the strike, Union members will receive $500 a week in strike assistance from the UAW if they picket for at least 20 hours.
During today’s bargaining session, the Union took a two-hour break and compiled a 95-page comprehensive package, which the College described as reiterating positions from months ago.
The College said it was “very disappointed” at the Union’s “outright” rejection of the offers without presenting alternatives “that could narrow, rather than expand, our differences.”
Timeline of strike announcements
The News previously reported that the WOAW union’s strike authorization vote passed by 93% on February 24. However, in subsequent bargaining sessions, WOAW and Wellesley were not able to reach agreements on compensation, workload, and discrimination and harassment procedures. On March 10, WOAW held a rally to advocate for progress in the negotiations.
Last Tuesday, March 18, WOAW announced March 27 as the strike date.
The College responded to the strike announcement in a campus-wide email sent on March 24 by Provost Courtney Coile and Carolyn Slaboden, Chief Human Resources Officer. The email stated that the College did not feel that parties were at an “impasse” and “sincerely [hoped] that WOAW-UAW does not decide to strike,” as well as that bargaining sessions have been scheduled for the next several weeks. More information on negotiation status is available on the College’s dedicated website.
According to the WOAW Instagram, WOAW has offered to participate in additional bargaining sessions every day since March 18, but the College declined.
What students should know
Wellesley College’s unionization FAQ page states that affected class department chairs will notify students directly. In some departments, these notifications have already been sent out to students.
According to a post on WOAW’s Instagram on March 24, “Over 70% of tenure-track faculty have pledged not to teach struck classes taught by WOAW members.”
In departments including Biology, Chemistry, Women’s and Gender Studies and Anthropology, classes taught by non-tenure track faculty who choose to strike will not be filled by tenure-track faculty. The Economics department has informed students that classes with striking faculty will be filled by tenure-track faculty.
On the FAQ page for students, WOAW has asked students to demonstrate solidarity with the union by refraining from attending courses taught by those on strike, showing support at picket locations and emailing campus administration in support of the union.
Financial future
The College currently projects over $8 million in budget deficit for the fiscal year 2026, in a statement sent to faculty and staff by Provost Courtney Coile and Piper Orton, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, seen by The News.
In a separate statement reviewed by The News, this included a projected 30% increase in total compensation over the four-year contract for WOAW.
While the College often comes to a balanced budget, this year’s $8 million would require “significant action,” according to Coile. The email also stated that the College is considering a hiring freeze and a food and travel cut for faculty and staff.
This comes amid uncertainties around “ongoing conversations about the possible cost to the College to the WOAW-UAW contract” and federal policy changes targeting higher education institutions.
Wellesley, among other higher education institutions, is facing increasing pressure from the Trump administration, including a potential endowment tax hike and threats of cutting federal funding and grants.
“With the Union having apparently decided to strike on Thursday and disrupt campus life for our students, the College will now consider what is the best pathway to reach an agreement,” the College wrote.
Still, union members remain confident in their bargaining demands.
“We are fighting the good fights. We are willing to fight for the contract we deserve,” said Jacqueline Woodford, lecturer in chemistry.
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Sazma Sarwar and India Lacey
Updated on March 26th to reflect corrections to department announcements.
