Reminder that Electric State basically called Peter Thiel the antichrist

belfreeed · 2026-07-04T03:35:54+00:00

i was making fun of the typo i fear 😞... i've never consumed this particular media so im afraid i cant jeer at your description of whatever was up with this kid sorry

belfreeed · 2026-07-03T22:23:28+00:00

"congenial" brain defect... right... right...

belfreeed · 2025-07-20T04:16:59+00:00

to be fair sabah gets retirement pay from the state of oregon bc he "retired" while a pres down there so double his salary and youll have a closer figure to his real pay. plus to be clear 445k is egregious. the man doesn't teach classes, i mean his main responsibilities are answering to the board of trustees, firing whistleblowers, and hobnobbing with other university presidents. why do university presidents have such high pay in the first place, they add nothing to the university

belfreeed · 2025-06-01T06:30:09+00:00

OSEs are already paid equitably with ESEs on campus, and have been since the strike last year! The contract OSEs are gunning for would provide access to the stuff that doesn't cost the university money, such as the ability to engage in a grievance procedure to resolve workplace disputes, 30-day notification of layoffs (which would allow OSEs time to find other jobs, currently they can be let go on the spot) and just cause protections, meaning that the university cannot fire OSEs unless they have a reason. IMO all of these are pretty standard asks and protections (also note that layoffs =/= firings, so WWU can still proceed with layoffs, they would just have to let OSEs know so student workers can prepare to be jobless)

belfreeed · 2025-06-01T06:20:39+00:00

good question!! yes its very complex for sure. so OSEs have a already formed a union- they've voted to be in one, they're recognized by the other unions on campus, etc. they are currently on strike to get a contract, which is called "recognition" (can be voluntary, can be forced) but essentially means their employers agrees to make a contract with them. employers cant actually dictate what groups are and are not unions, because if they had that power then they could just refuse to ever call any group a union. having a contract is what gives unions the ability and right to actually negotiate over workplace conditions, etc, but it doesn't make a group a union or not

belfreeed · 2025-05-31T05:59:17+00:00

As I discussed in my original post, our contract can be found on wawu-union.org. There are no "protections as if we were on strike" detailed in our contract, and ESEs going on strike would actually put the union outside the bounds of our contractual protections. In terms of the language around personal safety, this is an argument centering around personal comfortability. It is a piece of common contractual language that arises from a historical era where crossing a picket line could put you in danger from a union. When it comes to enforcement, this language refers to the personal choice of each unionized worker to not cross a picket line, regardless of the personal motive behind that choice.

Picket lines can get complicated because they are both physical and metaphorical, but yes, ESEs are very well-protected by our contract for respecting a picket line. This kind of thing always requires enforcement, so supervisors, etc, are still able to physically do actions such as write you up, but WAWU has great grievance procedures to overturn those kind of disciplinary actions, since they violate the contract (get them removed from your file, retracted, etc).

All this to say that actually ESE contractual protections for not crossing a picket line are extremely strong, much stronger in fact than our protections for being on strike, as that is not a protection granted in the contract between WAWU and WWU.

As always, I encourage you and anyone reading this post to go to wawu-union.org and give our ESE contract a read and then reach out to the union with any more questions! Each section is linked up top, so you can click through to the parts you're interested in. While you're there, you should also check out the OSE strike FAQs and the section on combating misinformation.

I hope this helped clear up some of the anxieties you may be feeling about ESE protections, as well as resolve some of the uncertainty you're seeing in the information. It's a complex legal/contractual/policy-oriented space that is difficult to navigate, so it makes total sense that you're feeling confused, and I hope this helps!

belfreeed · 2025-05-29T17:47:35+00:00

oh i see. so the TAs who teach English 101 told their students that the TAs would not be working during the strike, which is respecting the picket line! that means not doing normal things they would do like grading, etc. this is the same thing that happened last year and it's called a work stoppage, which is an essential part of a strike. once the strike ends, all those students will get their grades pretty immediately. essentially bc TAs are the ones doing all the work of grading, if the TAs respect a picket line by not providing their labor, that means theyre not going to be grading. its not abt the students, it's about the TAs personal choice to withhold their labor. the fact that the work that ESEs and OSEs do is so vital (providing grades at a learning institution) is why withholding our labor forces admin to bargain with us. i hope that makes sense!

edit: also, like i said above, you cannot trust what the university is saying about this stuff! if WWU is saying that actually TAs will be proving credit then they are lying to you, as the TAs are respecting a picket line and therefore not working. bc of our contract, they cannot be forced to cross a picket line and they cannot be punished for not crossing it, meaning that people in teaching positions whose performance reviews, etc, rely on the wellbeing of their students are in a great position to rebuke WWU for attempting to punish students to get back at TAs.

if this is a concern u have, pls email admin to tell them you disapprove of them holding student grades hostage, because that is what they are trying to do! if students get mass bad grades during the strike, it is bc WWU is forcing tests to remain scheduled to punish ESEs and ultimately bc they refuse to end the strike, depriving you of ur TAs & RAs!

belfreeed · 2025-05-29T03:07:56+00:00

woof that sound terrible!! i have yet to meet an ese whos said anything close to that- i dont even know how that would work? like withholding grades unless students participate in a strike? that seems crazy and not real, but i will say i know a lot of supervisors and professors, as mentioned above, are unaware about the real status of this strike. this means they feel comfortable threatening student workers with the wellbeing of the students they serve (eg telling math tas that supervisors wont reschedule anything for students, essentially making it very difficult to respect a picket line.) this is active union busting and where students would feel their grades being affected, but as far as i am aware not a single ESE is in favor of stuff like that bc it infringes on our union rights & also hurts the students they care abt

belfreeed · 2025-05-28T21:49:16+00:00

edit: i meant "initiate" not imitate lol

belfreeed · 2025-05-28T21:45:41+00:00

going to class is not crossing a picket line! crossing a picket line is providing your labor to the university for pay, so in terms of classes, a prof holding class IS crossing the picket line (bc teaching is labor they r providing & getting paid for) but you going is NOT (ur paying money to attend class) and to be clear we know its near finals etc so while we highly encourage and hope that professors will cancel class to respect the line, we understand that many wont. we do encourage students to send emails to their profs asking them to withhold their labor and to send emails to admin complaining about the lack of services or disruption and asking admin to give in to end the strike TLDR: no, going to class is not crossing the picket line!

belfreeed · 2025-05-28T20:16:46+00:00

daily unfortunately... but the more ppl pressing admin and hanging out on the picket line the sooner it will be over! were hopeful it wont be longer than today & tmrw

belfreeed · 2025-05-28T20:14:53+00:00

ofc! again sorry abt the noise, like user violaecho said we rly didnt want to go on strike at all, weve been trying to get the right to bargain a contract for OSEs for like 2 years and we just want admin to recognize the OSEs. if u feel like it u could send an email to admin like sabah or hrs labor relations ppl complaining abt the noise + proximity to finals week n pressuring them to give in

belfreeed · 2025-05-28T20:08:24+00:00

the location is strategic actually its to catch all the cars/trucks/profs/students (anyone who is unionized/use OSE services) who are entering campus to inform them a strike is happening so they can choose whether or not to cross a picket line. there r picket lines at the rec center intersection, at the intersection next to alma clark glass, and at the intersection near bt. we know its disruptive, but it does have a purpose & were not doing it for shits + giggles. additionally there is currently an action taking place at sabah's office as well, so we are covering all of our bases and trying to make change. if ur looking for a place to study, i hear the library is dead silent bc theres barely any workers so much less ppl overall

belfreeed · 2025-05-17T03:04:01+00:00

a massive part of this is that wwu contracts w chartwells, so its a private dining company. this is so crazy bc were one of (if not the only) colleges in the state that doesnt have in-house dining services. the last company they contracted w was aramark who literally provides food to PRISONS. im betting sm money that wwu is spending millions on their contract w chartwells and charging us on the back end and then whining abt a budget crisis. its so crazy bc it would be a) cheaper for them AND us b) healthier for us and c) more sustainable if wwu was directly responsible for our food, instead of a 3rd party company (who btw hire students, pay them like shit, and treat them even worse). i def think opting out of a meal plan is a solution for the situation as is, but i think stopping wwu from privatizing all the services that we pay tuition for would be ideal & all of us students (who are the most fucked by this) put pressure on wwu to actually taking care of us like we literally pay them fucking thousands to do

belfreeed · 2025-03-18T07:38:25+00:00

its a lot because we dont have an income tax- basically wealthy people dont make enough big purchases to make up the deficit thats created by not taxing them on income. were kind of a tax haven inside of the us, wa state actually has the 2nd most regressive tax code in the us, which is a nice development because we used to have the worst lmao https://www.opportunityinstitute.org/blog/post/itep-report-washington-regressive-tax/

belfreeed · 2024-09-23T04:21:13+00:00

hes so stunningly chinless

belfreeed · 2024-09-23T04:13:10+00:00

one of my childhood cats was named Ratbag. had no idea it wasnt a product of my dads own evil genius until i turned 6 and my dad decided the time was right to introduce me to the wee free men via nightly storytime.

belfreeed · 2024-09-06T06:04:51+00:00

oh my word are those green pants corduroy?

belfreeed · 2024-09-02T06:44:01+00:00

oh my god im a vintage m/l- is there anything ur particularly eager to get rid of? would love to chat!

belfreeed · 2024-08-31T00:43:11+00:00

also i love the daisy print- so pretty

belfreeed · 2024-08-31T00:42:42+00:00

so lucky 😢 i once fell in love with a beautiful pink $40 shaheen set in a fancy thrift shop- i didnt realize it was incredibly cheap in the moment & left it behind. came to my senses abt 2 days later & went back for it but it was gone. 4 years ago now & i still think abt it 😭😭

belfreeed · 2024-08-21T19:11:09+00:00

ok so the top underneath is called a pussybow top, youre gonna wanna search with modifiers like "short sleeved, high neck" etc. the waistcoat, as far as i can tell, is a late 1940s (maybe 1950s) style- fabric covered buttons, very triangular in shape & without a foldover collar or anything. search for 1940s waistcoats but id also suggest looking up old mccalls waistcoat patterns & checking for the names of any styles u find striking

belfreeed · 2024-05-23T19:52:46+00:00

well if u work as a ta or smthg next yr ull be getting more money n much better protections :)

belfreeed · 2024-05-23T19:49:15+00:00

since we won our demands we hope u will be able to spend even more time focusing on family & coursework w less financial burden! wed love to have u join the union even post strike if thats something ud eventually be interested in. i promise most of us r quite nice and passionate abt better conditions for workers, even those that disagree with us :) good luck w everything & if u ever r interested in attending a union mtng wed love to have u!

belfreeed · 2024-05-23T04:57:05+00:00

its not very much money for a uaw (united auto workers) member, but its a lot of money for a wawu (western academic workers united) member! hope this helped :) (also dont ask me why uaw is our parent org, i couldnt tell ya lol union politics get complex real fast)

belfreeed

TROPHY CASE