UC’s unlawful behavior is preventing progress on core bargaining issues
On Wednesday, 48,000 Academic Researchers, Academic Student Employees, Postdocs and Student Researchers will begin Strike Authorization Votes in response to UC’s numerous unfair labor practices at the bargaining table. Though UC Academic Workers have won victories on a number of key issues, the University’s unlawful behavior is obstructing progress on key issues including fair compensation, job security, climate and transit, support for parents and families and international scholar rights. The Strike Authorization Votes present an enormous opportunity to demonstrate to UC that we are united and committed to taking whatever collective action is necessary to win fair contracts.
On Wednesday morning, you’ll receive an email with a link to vote. As the respective Bargaining Teams for each unit, we urge everyone to Vote Yes to authorize us to call strikes if the University’s behavior justifies such actions. You can read Strike Authorization Vote frequently asked questions here. And please don’t hesitate to reply to this email with additional questions.
Bargaining update
Please read on for a *brief* summary of what else happened in each of last week’s bargaining sessions (you can click here for more detailed info on the latest proposals for each unit):
Academic Researchers
UC’s bargaining team didn’t meet with us for most of the scheduled session, only showing up for the last 10 minutes of a 2-hour session. This is unacceptable, wasting our time, and is an example of UC’s failure to bargain in good faith. Today, we are also filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge with California State’s Public Employment Relations Board over UC’s failure to respond to our Requests for Information related to many bargaining topics. Last week, we did agree to current contract language on two articles, Vacation and Sick Leave, and we received UC’s counter proposal to our Access Needs package, and we’re close to agreement on this topic.
Academic Student Employees
This week Academic Student Employees presented our newest proposals on fee remission and childcare. More support for international scholars through the remission of Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition and more childcare support for parents and caregivers are key bargaining demands. Additionally, we reached a tentative agreement on our retirement plan article and got closer to reaching an agreement on Grievance and Arbitration.
Postdocs
Victory on Disability Justice! This week Postdocs reached agreement on contract articles that will improve disability access at UC: 1. New rights to interim accommodations that will speed up timelines to address access needs; 2. A new joint Union-UC committee that will be focused on improving access needs including expanding centralized funding for accommodations, supervisor trainings, fully accessible technology options, and more; and 3. New required language in appointment letters about the right to an accommodation.
Student Researchers
In SRU bargaining we reached a tentative agreement on Workload, a big win that allows GSRs to file a grievance if they believe their current duties are unreasonable based on appointment percentage and title/classification. Work assignments include any required training, orientation, required meetings, required conferences, as part of GSRs workload. We also passed the University a proposal on a defined contributions plan (DCP) which would ensure GSRs are eligible for the same retirement plans as other UC employees. We discussed the UC’s current Access Needs proposal at the table — we’re getting more insight into their position before we make our next move.
In solidarity,
UAW 5810 Academic Researcher Bargaining Team
UAW 2865 Academic Student Employee Bargaining Team
UAW 5810 Postdoc Bargaining Team
SRU-UAW Student Researcher Bargaining Team