Facing UC's union-busting tactics, SysAdmins fight back with solidarity and worker power
Despite the union-busting tactics by the University of California around UPTE accretion campaigns, job stability and a robust union contract steered Gabe Castillo to become a seasoned System Administrator 3 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for the University of California, San Diego.
As a SysAdmin 3, Gabe ensures the smooth functioning of servers for a variety of research data and educational purposes. "A lot of my role is related to server support," he emphasized, highlighting the criticality of his work in supporting Scripps' diverse research missions. "One of the things that attracted me to the job was the sort of diverse nature of the workloads. It wasn't coming into the office and working on setting up a desktop or a server for standard business needs every day. I like the idea of having a melange of problems to solve."
Gabe spoke candidly about his union journey, marked by the long-drawn process of system administrator accretion, a clear example of UC's stalling tactics. "I think initially a lot of us weren't sure if it was going to happen, so we were just kind of like, 'Well, we'll wait and see,'" Gabe recounted, underlining the uncertainty caused by UC's apparent union-busting strategies.
Despite UC's foot-dragging, UPTE members secured significant wins, including overdue raises for system administrators. Castillo stressed the importance of these victories, saying, "We really are part of the union now, and we're getting these raises because of our membership and collective bargaining power." This success story is a testament to UPTE's resilience against UC's union-busting tactics.
A landmark achievement for UPTE was securing overdue contractual raises for system administrators. "A huge win that we were able to achieve was getting system administrators, in particular, the contractual raises that they were owed over the last several years," Gabe recounted. The victory was especially significant as it demonstrated the union's ability to enforce contract terms and stand against UC's stalling practices. "Many of us weren't receiving the UPTE contract raises that were part of our contract even after PERB [Public Employment Relations Board] had determined that the accretion was official."
Worker power winning the raises was not lost on system administrators. "I think that that was a huge win in that members, and in particular system administrators, saw that, 'Oh, we really are part of the union now, and we're getting these raises because of our membership and collective bargaining power,'" reflected Gabe.
In the latest bargaining session on November 15, UPTE and UC achieved a notable advancement with an agreement on pay scales at UC Davis, marking a significant step forward. However, challenges persist at UC Santa Barbara with proposed reductions in maximum pay and unanswered concerns regarding lower minimum salaries at UC Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.
On a positive note, UC has proposed on-call rates and is beginning to align with our demands for enhanced retirement and healthcare benefits for SysAdmins. This progress, especially in retirement benefits, signals a growing alignment between us and UC. With continued negotiations and a focus on resolving outstanding issues, there is optimism for further constructive outcomes in the upcoming December 7 session, fostering hope for mutually beneficial agreements across all campuses.
It's clear that UPTE's crucial role in safeguarding employee rights against UC's delaying and union-busting tactics leads to improving the material conditions for UC employees systemwide. As we prepare for the next round of negotiations, the win for SysAdmins serves as a rallying cry for solidarity and the collective strength necessary to overcome institutional challenges placed by UC.
