Professional Staff Organization

Advocacy


October 3, 2023

November Lunch & Learn: Office of the Ombud

The Professional Staff Organization Events Committee is excited to invite you to our November Virtual Lunch & Learn! Join us Thursday, November 16th 12-1pm via Zoom to learn about the Office of the Ombud and their value for Professional Staff at the University of Washington. The Office of the Ombud’s mission is to provide high…


January 17, 2023

Resources to navigate a work-life balance

The PSO Board sometimes hears from professional staff needing extra assistance navigating difficult work situations. Here are some important resources you should know about: When communicating with your supervisor regarding your job performance, expectations or responsibilities become unproductive, and you feel your concerns are not being heard, who should you turn to?  After your manager your…


November 18, 2022

November is National Native American Heritage month

The PSO wishes to recognize November as National Native American Heritage month. This language was developed by the Department of Chemistry, and they’ve graciously allowed us to share this with the professional staff community. The language has been lightly edited for this audience (eg, replacing “I” with “we”): Native American Heritage month was passed by…


February 14, 2022

PSO memo on unionizing efforts of Research Scientists and Engineers (RSEs)

As many have likely already heard, there is an effort underway by the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4121 to organize UW’s research scientists and engineers (RSEs). Those organizing this effort filed notice and shared their petition with the Public Employment Relations Commission on January 3, 2022. UAW 4121, which also represents UW’s teaching and…


February 9, 2022

2022 Legislative Town Halls (virtual & phone)

Date Time District Members Location 02/16 6:00pm-7:00pm 32nd Senator Jesse Salomon, Reps. Cindy Ryu & Lauren Davis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WaHouseDems Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WaHouseDems 02/16 7:00pm-8:00pm 44th Senator John Lovick, Reps. April Berg & Brandy Donaghy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenateDemocrats / Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/user/WASenateDemocrats 02/17 5:30pm-6:30pm 1st Senator Derek Stanford, Reps. Shelley Kloba & Davina Duerr Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenateDemocrats Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WASenateDemocrats 02/17 6:30pm-7:30pm 28th Reps. Mari…


December 12, 2021

PSO Legislative Preview Recap

On November 17, the PSO hosted its annual Legislative Session Preview, with guest speaker Joe Dacca, UW Director of State Relations. Over 100 people joined in to hear Dacca share the University’s legislative agenda and take questions. An important highlight is that compensation is the University’s top agenda item for the coming legislative session that…


September 16, 2021

Survey of Professional Staff on Return to In-Person Work

Over the course of spring and summer 2021 quarters, the PSO Board received emails and questions from professional staff who expressed concerns about returning to onsite/in-person work. It became clear that professional staff wanted more transparency and information about the university’s plans to return to in-person work. In order to better understand the concerns of…


March 18, 2021

Reporting Anti-Asian Hate Activity–resources shared by the Seattle Chapter, Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL)

FOR IMMEDIATE POSTING—REPORTING ANTI-ASIAN HATE ACTIVITY   To:  Communications Officers of Puget Sound School Districts and Higher Education Institutions From:  Seattle Chapter Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL) The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has witnessed the rise of racist anti-Asian hate incidents.  The incidents have occurred across the country and have…


September 23, 2020

COVID-19 Caregiver Task Force

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for employee and student caregivers everywhere. Locally, COVID-19 has worsened an existing caregiving crisis by causing many child care centers to close or reduce capacity and reducing programs and services that provide support for children, adults and caregivers. On July 30, 2020, President Cauce charged a task force…


September 16, 2020

Annual Letter to Professional Staff from the PSO Board

Hello, UW community of professional staff! On behalf of the PSO Board of Directors, we are excited to reach out to you as we begin our year together. In this moment it’s more important than ever to stay connected and be there for each other. The PSO is working to understand, amplify, and address the…