Research members at UCLA are helping lead the charge for a strong contract in 2024
With the unveiling of our 2024 UC contract platform, UPTE members have been spreading the word in workplaces across the state. The platform is divided into three key sections—fair pay and career progression, work/life balance, and job security and staffing. These priorities were identified by thousands of UPTE members through last year's bargaining survey and they represent the key areas we hope to make progress on in this year's negotiations.
You can read the full platform and pledge to support these priorities during the upcoming vote by visiting upte.org/platform. From April 4 - 18, members will vote to ratify those priorities. You can find dates, times, and locations for in-person voting at upte.org/vote. You'll also be able to cast your ballot digitally there beginning on April 4.
Tim Wilson is an Assistant Museum Scientist who works as a film prep technician at UCLA's Film & Television Archive. Along with his fellow UPTE unit representatives around the state, Tim has been helping spread the word about the upcoming vote among his colleagues.
"I've been doing a lot of meetings with groups in the RX classification. We've been sharing the pamphlet that lays out our tentative platform for negotiations as a jumping-off point for discussions, and so far people have been really excited about everything they've seen in there," Tim said.
Tim has heard a lot of the same issues being raised among coworkers, saying, "Our union represents a lot of different titles in different classifications, including healthcare, research, and technical employees at UC. We may not all share the exact same priorities, and the specifics might look different from workplace to workplace, but this is a platform that can unify us across campuses and classifications."
Tim has worked at the Film & Television Archive for over 13 years, following a career as an assistant film editor on feature films. His work focuses on preparing film to be digitally scanned and also printed to new film stock. This means prepping new film elements, cleaning film, and more to ensure these important and historical cultural items can be preserved.
Although the platform resonates broadly with Tim and his colleagues, fair pay and career progression is an important priority for them. "Our expertise is rare, but sustaining a career at UC can be challenging for us because the pay is not great and many people deserve reclassification," said Tim. "It's hard to save money and afford life in LA while working here. People leave, and it's hard to fill vacancies. We are understaffed and overworked."
Tim feels confident that by continuing to take action and demonstrate our unity, we'll be able to win a strong next contract with UC in this year's negotiations. "This is all about showing numbers to the UC. Management needs to know that if they don't negotiate fairly or pass good proposals, we will hold them accountable. When they see a high level of support for the union, they're likely to settle more quickly, and we'll get a better contract. We're focused on maintaining high membership levels and participation among our group in the RX unit and we encourage everyone else to do the same by participating in the platform ratification process."