Update: You can now use Sick Leave for COVID-19-related child care
In response to our union’s demands for more paid leave that can be used for child care, UC has agreed to change its policy for the use of Sick Leave. From July 1 to December 31, 2020, accrued Sick Leave can now be used for COVID-19-related child care needs. Specifically, you can now use Sick Leave to be paid on any day you are unable to work or telework because your children are not able to physically attend their school or care provider due to COVID-19 precautions. This is an important win! We are also continuing to push for additional paid leave for all Postdocs and ARs for COVID-19 related needs. This win (and many more) is possible because we have a union, so if you’re not a member yet, please click here to sign up.
Some Postdocs and ARs have reported problems with their Sick Leave accruals in UCPath. Sick Leave accruals do carry forward to subsequent appointments and transfer between UC job titles (such as between Postdoc and AR appointments). If you have any questions about your Sick Leave accruals, contact your union at uaw5810@uaw5810.org.
Our Union’s 10th Anniversary
This week marks a big anniversary for UAW 5810 – it’s been 10 years since Postdocs ratified their first-ever union contract! We’ve come a long way over the past decade. Our union has grown from about 5,800 to over 11,000 researchers, with LBL Postdocs joining in 2016 and Academic Researchers in 2019. In that period UAW unions at universities across the country have also grown, from representing 45,000 academic workers to 80,000 today, as Postdocs, researchers, and student-workers are increasingly choosing unionization as the best way to improve their working conditions.
Through our strength, we’ve won higher pay, improved benefits, better job security, historic protections against harassment and discrimination, increased paid leave, and more. Many of our wins have become standard-bearers for researchers across the country. And we’ve created community at every campus, which has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. But our union is only as strong as our membership. So if you support these efforts, please do your part and take a minute to sign up as a member here.
In solidarity,
UAW 5810 Executive Board
Anke Schennink, President, UC Davis
Neal Sweeney, Vice President, UC Santa Cruz
Alex Blacutt, Recording Secretary, UC Riverside
Gerard Ariño-Estrada, Trustee, UC Davis
Lydia Majure, Trustee, UC Berkeley
Charisse Winston, Sergeant At Arms, UC San Diego
Stephany Chacon, Postdoc Member at Large, LBL
Elliott Peterson, AR Member at Large, UCSF