Your UPTE-negotiated raises are on the way!

Recently, the University of California announced that the annual cost of living raises for workers not covered by a collective bargaining agreement will be 4.6%. That's just for people who don't belong to a union. UPTE members, however, were eligible for a step increase in January and will receive an additional 3% in July—meaning that most UPTE members will receive 5% in 2024.

Over the life of this current contract, we won 29% in raises for RX and TX members and 32% for HX members. This came after a long fight that involved massive statewide mobilizations, including thousands of us going on strike. During that same period of time, our nonunion colleagues had no raises guaranteed—in some years, they received up to 3% depending on UC's discretion, and in years like 2020 they didn't receive a raise at all.

We begin bargaining our new contract on June 11. We are demanding significant pay increases to address the enormous inflation that we have seen over the past few years - along with improved work-life balance, career progression, and job security.

The raises we won in our contract are a minimum: we are actively campaigning for market and internal equity, reclassification, and shift differentials in addition to our contractual raises—and we're winning. In just the last few months:

• UC Riverside mental health workers won a 12% equity increase

• UCSF ED social workers won schedule changes and improved staffing

• Sea-faring technicians and researchers at UC San Diego won a new sea pay agreement

• Business Technical Support Analysts at UC Davis won equity increases up to 12%

• Electronics Technicians at UC Santa Barbara won 7% equity increases

The power of belonging to a union isn't just limited to wage increases. UPTE-represented healthcare workers also have:

• Just cause protections against unfair corrective action or termination. We also have seniority rights, protections against layoffs or contracting out, and high-quality workplace representation from trained UPTE stewards.

• The ability to begin retirement at age 50 and maximize benefits at 60, instead of age 55 with maximal benefits at 65 for nonunion workers hired after July 2013

• Overtime paid when you work above 8 hrs a day or 40 hours a week, double time awarded over 12 hrs per day, instead of only receiving OT after 40 hours and with no double-time.

• Just cause protections against unfair corrective action or termination. We also have seniority rights, protections against layoffs or contracting out, and high-quality workplace representation from trained UPTE stewards.

In addition to these contractual benefits, we've also fought and won additional pay and better working conditions up and down the state through our collective strength and solidarity. You can learn more about those recent victories here.

None of what we've won would have been possible without our members being willing to work together and take action. It's clear that when we're organized and united, we have real power at work. That's the UPTE difference.

In solidarity,

Dan Russell
UPTE President