Erik Bowman

Clown emoji!

We're back! The ULW4TL is back at the bargaining table and boy are we mad! We have been back to the bargaining table for 5 months and have yet to receive comprehensive economic offers. Since our initial contract in 2023, the rate of inflation has skyrocketed and Trump's tariffs have significantly reduced buying power. Since then, our salaries have only received 2.5% COLAs per year. Not only has inflation skyrocketed, the cost of rent has increased between 5-6% yearly in NYC and D.C., where the majority of our unit lives. A4TE has cited budgetary concerns, and while we sympathize with these difficulties, we find them to be self-inflicted. A4TE chose to hire a plethora of C-Suite staff with high salaries and chose to increase its CEO's salary by nearly 100k from 2023-2024 according to the latest IRS filings. Poor budgetary planning, especially when management knows contract negotiations were around the corner is not the Unit's fault. Contract negotiations were foreseeable by management, but the respective unions at TLDEF and NCTE were blindsided by the costly merger that has seemingly left management only with enough money to give themselves thousands in raises while barely offering the status quo to its least paid and underappreciated staff.

Management expects to exhaust us with a drawn out, "woe is me" approach. Unfortunately, this strategy only energizes the most tired of us all. Management will now have to deal with a forceful and unrelenting public resistance to this strategy until our needs are met. A Union's first contract is the floor and we have no where to go but up. This organization will crumble without its administrators, its organizers, its policy team, its communications staff, its development team, or its legal team. A machine without its cogs, breaks. There is no time but the present, @transequalitynow Let's Negotiate.

We are back at the bargaining table! And it's been FIVE months.

There is no time but the present, @transequality.bsky.social

Let's Negotiate!

01.12.2025 23:42 — 👍 57    🔁 19    💬 3    📌 4

The Body Remembers: Trauma Leaves Lasting Biological Imprints - Neuroscience News Survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing continue to carry hidden biological imprints of trauma, even decades after the event and in the absence of visible mental health issues.

Great example of biology telling a different, more complex, story than self report. This kind of work is at the core of why I got into science. In industry I work to try and make collection of biomarkers easier for a wider range of fields. #neuroskyence

neurosciencenews.com/body-trauma-...

14.04.2025 02:40 — 👍 25    🔁 7    💬 3    📌 0

What the new science of magic reveals about perception and free will

Magicians have long exploited quirks in our perception of the world to make us experience the impossible. Now, cognitive psychology is exploring how they do it and revealing fresh insights into how our minds work

12.04.2025 00:41 — 👍 10    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

Related to this is how one never gets credit for preventing bad things.

Which…leads to very suboptimal incentive structures in politics.

07.04.2025 05:17 — 👍 30    🔁 12    💬 1    📌 0

the worst part of what’s going to happen this week is how it’s going to hurt the already suffering and hardest hit even more severely and cruelly

07.04.2025 05:15 — 👍 90    🔁 16    💬 1    📌 0

It's simple. Everyone in the US enjoys the protections of the Constitution - even visitors. So if someone commits a crime here, you give them due process here. You charge them here, try them here, and sentence them here. You don't deport them to an offshore torture prison.

29.03.2025 17:20 — 👍 32584    🔁 8775    💬 862    📌 334

The findraiser stream is live!! youtube.com/@theentropys...

27.03.2025 14:19 — 👍 4    🔁 6    💬 0    📌 0

When scholars of authoritarianism and fascism leave U.S. universities because of the deteriorating political situation here, we should really worry.

26.03.2025 00:50 — 👍 23811    🔁 8254    💬 598    📌 673

ULW4TL Public Statement 2.6.2025 Union of Legal Workers for Trans LiberationPublic StatementFebruary 6th, 2025 We are deeply troubled by the news of the Human Rights Campaign planning to lay off approximately 20% of their staff. T...

Public Statement 🧵 (1/10)

(see full statement here- docs.google.com/document/d/1...)

We are deeply troubled by the news of HRC planning to lay off ~20% of its staff. These are not just numbers. These are people who have dedicated their lives to LGBTQIA+ rights.

06.02.2025 23:08 — 👍 246    🔁 88    💬 4    📌 11

I don’t care how much of a capitalist you are, how can you justify this?

15.12.2024 22:40 — 👍 20    🔁 2    💬 2    📌 0

What happened when public universities in 🇨🇦 started publicizing faculty salaries?

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The salary gap between men and women declined by 20-40% as a direct result.

www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

04.12.2024 20:30 — 👍 536    🔁 183    💬 12    📌 18

Hell ya, friends!

04.12.2024 21:31 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

As a union of 22 trans and allied staff, we will always fight for our trans community. Trans people deserve safety, dignity, and the freedom to live as our authentic selves. Sadly, right-wing extremists have chosen to attack trans people because of what we represent- that gender should be a playground to express yourself, not a prison to confine people.

Our culture has changed immensely over the past several decades thanks to the activism of communities of color, feminists, and queer and trans people. These gains have sparked a backlash from those who fear progress, and unfortunately, our opposition has done everything possible to keep us fractured as a movement. Too many leaders have fallen for these divisive tactics, but we refuse to accept this. Our community does not deserve to be scapegoated.

We demand dignity, respect, and a much larger, healthier conversation about gender — one that centers the voices of trans people at the vanguard of change. No matter the challenges ahead, we will take care of each other and continue to fight for what we need to thrive. We will not back down.

On behalf of ULW4TL, we’re proud to share our first post on Bluesky. We reaffirm our commitment to fighting for the safety, dignity, & liberation of trans communities. Our collective power is rooted in solidarity, & we will not waver in the face of fear and division. Read our full statement below. 👇

28.11.2024 15:52 — 👍 187    🔁 35    💬 3    📌 6

Just Asking Questions: Can an Implication Generate an Illusory Truth Effect? Ira E. Hyman, Jr., Jasmine Balmelli-Morales, Macallan Enns-Ford, Annika Fiala, Zoe Gadbow, Macy Kneipp, Isabel Nguyen, Gwen Pane Western Washington University Madeline Jalbert University of Washington

A Just Asking Questions Effect for spreading false information.
This thread is an overview of my lab’s research that I presented at Psychonomics this morning. #psynow24

TLDR: Getting people to generate their own false answers leads them to believe that info. 1/

23.11.2024 17:17 — 👍 170    🔁 66    💬 12    📌 18

Really thankful to @ulw4tl.bsky.social for a CBA that allows me to work from home!

23.11.2024 02:42 — 👍 4    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

A white coffee mug with a red heart and a blue T, filled with gumbo.

All cozy in a blanket with a mug of chicken and sausage gumbo on a cool and rainy Friday. Working from home is nice!

22.11.2024 20:18 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1

I like having the politics labeler set to “warn.” It lets me choose when I want to see that content, based on my capacity. That way I can still connect with people here while also protecting my mental health.

19.11.2024 15:30 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

This app is like Twitter and Reddit had a baby who then grew up and went no contact with bigoted relatives.

17.11.2024 20:56 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I would like to speak up today for the trans community.

You see, I know a bit of what it’s like to be politically scapegoated. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, suddenly anyone in America who had any amount of Japanese ancestry became suspect. Politicians preyed upon ignorance and fear. /1

17.11.2024 18:19 — 👍 42214    🔁 9531    💬 799    📌 679

My therapy sessions be like

17.11.2024 20:19 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I’m currently planning to go back to school as part of a career change. Not an official student yet, but hopefully will be soon. I’d love any advice you have!

17.11.2024 20:01 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0