Last week, Academic Student Employees, Postdocs and Student Researchers all had bargaining sessions with UC (Academic Researchers will have their next session this week), and after a summer of putting pressure on UC we saw some big results.
RSVP now to join a crucially important mass meeting on your campus where workers will strategize how to keep building this momentum until we can win fair contracts for all UC academic workers!
Please read on for a *brief* summary of what happened in each of last week’s bargaining sessions (you can click here for more detailed info on the latest proposals for each unit):
Union Security
Big win for our union: we reached a tentative agreement on the Union Security article for Postdocs and Academic Student Employees! In the wake of right-wing attacks on labor unions, UC was siding with anti-union groups and was attempting to roll back workers’ contractual right to receive a union membership form with their hiring paperwork. Not only did we defeat this cynical attempt to weaken our union, but we won a better, more efficient process than we had before.
Academic Researchers
Our next session is this Friday, Sept. 30 from 1pm-3pm – all members are welcome to attend: RSVP here. As far as the agenda goes, AR rights to join our union, new employee orientations, and protections from discrimination and bullying will be on the table. We’re also fighting for pay increases, bridge funding, family-friendly benefits, free public transit passes, and more.
Academic Student Employees
In addition to major progress on Union Security, Academic Student Employees presented our first proposal on Community Safety, another proposal on International Scholars and Immigration Support, and received another proposal from the University on Workload. The University is still trying to roll back Workload protections for ASEs, trying to unilaterally decide how long it takes to grade work assignments.
Postdocs
Postdocs won major progress not only on Union Security, but also anti-bullying protections (Respectful Work Environment article) and Grievance and Arbitration. On anti-bullying, UC made a much improved proposal that includes many of our demands, including strict timelines for addressing abusive conduct. On Grievance and Arbitration, the UC proposed an improved process to ensure timely resolution of all workplace issues. We are considering their offers for both.
Student Researchers
Student Researchers came close to reaching Tentative Agreements on key articles, including Union Security, Non-Discrimination in Employment, and Health and Safety. This marks major progress, after months of negotiations, on key issues Student Researchers unionized to achieve: protections from discrimination and harassment, workplace safety, and more union rights. Unfortunately, the University’s proposals on Discipline, Workload, and Posting were less positive, leaving Student Researchers unprotected from overwork and unfair discipline.
Workers are organizing *huge* turn-out for October Membership Meetings
The best way you can support winning a great contract is to attend the next Mass Membership Meeting. Don’t hesitate to reply to reach out any questions or about other ways to get involved in bargaining—winning what we deserve means everyone needs to be on deck!
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