UC workers coming together across the state to share their concerns, discuss priorities, and lay the foundation for bargaining next year
Across the state, our Unit and Workplace Representatives have been hosting mass meetings and social events to share the UC bargaining survey we launched last month. Hundreds of members have already ranked priorities including better work-life balance, improved staffing, job security, fairer compensation, career development, and more. That input and active participation are crucial for us to continue building a robust, effective, and member-led union.
So, what does a powerful union look like? It starts with building up our strength in numbers and making sure people are participating in setting our priorities. That means talking to coworkers about the things we want to see changed, and helping them understand that the only way to win everything that we need and deserve is for our employer to see that they're negotiating with all of us collectively—not just the people we elect to physically sit at the bargaining table. This is how the UAW and the nurses union have won powerful, transformative contracts in recent years.
Being active in our union doesn't mean having to volunteer tons of time outside of work—there are endless ways for people to participate at different levels, but the most important thing you can do right now is fill out a bargaining survey to help us set priorities for negotiations. Contact your local leadership to find out how to fill out a bargaining survey at your workplace. By completing a bargaining survey, you ensure that the proposals we bring to the bargaining table next year align with the needs and aspirations of members across the state.
And it can be fun, too! At UC Berkeley last week, members set up a table on campus with free boba tea for members who wanted to stop by, complete a bargaining survey or talk to other members about their issues and priorities.
"We want to go into bargaining knowing exactly what's most important to everyone, so we can fight for a contract that represents what we all need from UC," said Jamie Gardner, a unit rep with UPTE who works at UCB's Innovative Genomics Institute as a staff research associate. "In the labs, we're hearing that a lot of people are misclassified--being kept at a lower title & pay grade than they deserve based on the actual work they do. Lab techs manage workplace hazards the UC regents only see in movies--liquid nitrogen burns, exciting new carcinogens, magnets that can rip you apart. And a lot of people are effectively taking a pay cut to work at UC because we care about doing science in the public interest. As career research professionals in the Bay Area, we have other job options.The university makes money off of our work, by taking a cut from every grant. But the research can't get done without us. We face the risks and--alongside students and postdocs--we do the work, so we deserve a share of the proceeds."