UPTE & UC Bargaining Update #1: June 11 - 13
At our first contract bargaining session at UCSD last week, UPTE's statewide bargaining team came prepared to bargain. We presented a detailed proposal to fix broken career ladders across the state. Our proposals require measurable, objective criteria to reach higher titles in a job series, and create an enforceable guarantee to receive that title and pay from the date you begin performing those duties.
UCSD members came prepared as well. Hundreds of members from UC San Diego came out to show their support for UPTE's proposals, to listen, and share powerful testimonials and case reports from across the system showing how the same problems impact workers across titles & UC campuses.
UPTE members like you shared powerful examples of how losing qualified staff due to broken or non-existent career ladders endangers patient care and research at UC. It was powerful having members pack the room, rally outside, and show UC we're serious.
You can watch and share video recaps on UPTE social media from day one (Facebook, Instagram) and day two (Facebook, Instagram).
What did UC do during bargaining last week?
Instead of making substantive proposals, the University proposed limitations to who could participate in bargaining, including that we wouldn't even be allowed to share this update with you today!
UC negotiators are refusing to meet with us on the vast UCLA and UC Davis campuses, and are attempting to prevent us from bargaining in places accessible to you and your coworkers to attend. UPTE reiterated our insistence that bargaining be open to your participation.
Why are the UC's representatives focusing on keeping you and your colleagues away from bargaining instead of passing proposals that address our concerns? Because they understand that if thousands of UPTE members come together, we have the power to reset UC's priorities and force them to invest more in patient care, research, and the frontline workers who carry out their mission.
What do we do next? Make sure to join an UPTE Bargaining Strategy & Strike School, scheduled by your Unit and Workplace representatives, to learn more about what our options will be if UC does not bargain in good faith and settle a fair contract in the coming months. A schedule and more details will be coming soon.
We know from experience that UC administrators will alter their behavior only once they see us ready to act. If you want to help schedule a Strike School session in your Department, reach out to your campus Organizer at upte.org/contact.
Our next bargaining session will be at UCSF on June 25-26th. Please plan to join us if you work at UCSF or live close by!
In solidarity,
Your UPTE Bargaining Team
