Cause-UAW union enters collective bargaining with UA leadership

By Aaron Thomas

Collective bargaining has begun between university leadership and CAUSE-UAW, or the Coalition of Alaska University Staff for Equity. The union is working in partnership with the University of Alaska to secure higher wages, better healthcare, and holiday and sick leave.

The union formed in April, with 1,106 out of about 2,300 total staff members voting in favor of unionization. This represented approximately 64% of voters who participated. The vote was certified by the Alaska Labor Relations Agency on April 7, 2026.

The union was organized under The United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America or UAW. The union is one of the largest in North America, with over 400,000 members spanning the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Alaska Graduate Workers Association, or AGWA, is also organized under UAW. 

In June, the union filed an unfair labor practices charge against the university, alleging that their workplace rights were violated. This legal filing was on account of the university’s reversal on supporting a 3% pay increase. The charge also alleged interference with bargaining rights and discouragement of union formation. Jonathon Taylor, the university’s director of public affairs, has stated both allegations are untrue. 

Ian Marks, a union representative for CAUSE-UAW, said the union formed “organically” as UA workers contemplated “wages, healthcare costs, workplace protections and benefits.”

Marks said that the union’s role in the workplace is not limited to health insurance and wage increases, but also extends to a variety of other issues. According to Marks, the union is also trying to bargain for increased job security for UA employees, increased medical and parental leave, childcare subsidies, and stronger workplace harassment and discrimination protections.

“If you look at just university employees compared to other state employees, we're usually near the bottom in many of those categories,” Marks said.

As Alaska was ranked fifth in the nation for increased monthly inflation costs from 2021 through 2024, some union members have felt that wages have not matched employee cost of living.

“Anything can change. You may feel entirely happy in your current position, but leadership/new-leadership decisions can severely impact your job, without warning. I support a staff union so we workers can have a voice in higher decision making,” Putt Clark, a communications specialist at UAF and a union member, said.

The specific conditions of the collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, will remain confidential until agreed upon by both parties. This leaves UA staff under dynamic status quo, a legal process that ensures workers won't be penalized for union involvement. A dynamic status quo also prevents the university from changing terms and conditions of employment until the CBA is ratified by both parties.

According to Marks, the graduate union organized under UAW served as a template for their collective bargaining agreements. “During the organization, we worked with members of UAW and they've been instrumental in every step of the process,” Marks said. Because both the graduate and staff unions are organized under UAW, the process of collective bargaining can be streamlined as both unions will utilize very similar CBAs and union oversight.

“Ultimately, UA remains fully committed to its mission of serving students and communities across Alaska. This transition does not change that,” said Nickole Conley, the University of Alaska Chief Human Resources Office in a press release.

Marks said his involvement in unions stems from a history of seeing the wage and healthcare improvements that they are able to offer employees. “I come from a strong union family,” Marks said. “Both my parents were in unions. My wife is in a union. So I've seen the value of unions.”

Marks described the legal and organizational process of collective bargaining as a “somewhat tedious process,” with some aspects moving quickly and others taking time.

“The analogy I like to use is it's like building a house,” Marks said. “Some days it may look like nothing's happening, and then all of a sudden, one day they've got three walls put up.”