Making Waves: Scripps Institution of Oceanography workers sail to victory with new sea pay agreement

Earlier in the year, UPTE workers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a center for oceanography and Earth science based at UC San Diego, in La Jolla, won a seismic change in sea pay policy.  As union members, we know nothing is final until a formal written agreement codifies it—and after years of negotiating, the new sea pay agreement is final.

“The old policy, known as remote leave allowance, penalized us the more days in the month we worked,” described Andrew Naslund, a Marine Technician 3 working at Scripps for about four-and-a-half years. “If I went to sea Monday through Friday for the entire month and came home on the weekends, I’d be making almost the same amount of money plus or minus $35 a day, as if I went to sea from the first to the thirty-first. I’m essentially working my weekends for free. I’m not getting those days back; they’re just gone. We are not afforded the weekend.”

The new sea-pay policy was a hard-fought victory for Andrew and his colleagues across all seafaring departments. It aims to correct longstanding compensation inequities and significantly broadens the scope of what qualifies for sea pay. The inequity led to intense negotiations, during which marine technicians and other Scripps employees advocated for fair compensation and recognition of their weekends spent at sea. But getting that policy formalized into a written agreement has remained a priority.

Building off of a powerful march on the boss last year, these workers’ persistence in negotiations and ability to provide solid and convincing arguments were crucial in pushing the university to reconsider the policy.

The agreement allows technicians like Naslund to either cash out their banked weekend days or take additional time off, providing much-needed flexibility and support. “We’re really proud of the work that we did,” Andrew shared, emphasizing the strategic negotiations that led to the outcome. He highlighted the importance of unity and solid arguments in persuading the university to codify the changed policy into a formal agreement.

“Over the last two years, we’ve repeatedly emphasized that we are the union,” Andrew explained. “Many people refer to the union as a separate entity without recognizing that, as members of a public, member-run union, I am the union, you are the union—we all are. We’re collectively responsible for what we define as the union.”

Reflecting on the broader implications of their success in improving working conditions, Andrew encouraged other union members to recognize their potential impact: “Our success demonstrates that if we organize effectively, understand our arguments, and articulate them in a way that highlights mutual benefits for the university, we can achieve significant results. We’ve proven that when we, the union, come together, we can make things happen.”