Keep UC Research Working: Faculty & Principal Investigators Stand with UPTE
UC faculty, principal investigators, and supervisors attest that UPTE research support and technical employees—staff research associates, IT professionals, and others—are vital to making the University of California system a renowned institution for learning and research. Chronic understaffing and high turnover undermine quality. Faculty, principal investigators, and supervisors urge UC to push negotiators for terms to secure and keep essential staff.
Dear UC Campus Leadership,
We, the undersigned faculty, principal investigators, and supervisors of the University of California system, are writing in support of our colleagues who make up University Professional and Technical Employees CWA Local 9119 (UPTE CWA 9119). Staff research associates, IT professionals, and other UPTE titles serve highly specialized and crucial roles within our research and educational infrastructure. Without the vital technical and research support that UPTE members provide to our campus on a daily basis, we would not be able to serve our research, our students, or the broader intellectual community of which we are a part. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to recruit and retain these valuable career workers.
Over 67% of career researchers are here for a total of five years or less. Technical employees have experienced high rates of attrition due to stagnant career growth and an increasingly demanding workload. This constant churn makes it challenging to uphold the high standards of research and education that are at the core of UC’s mission. As principal investigators, faculty members, and supervisors, we witness firsthand how this retention and recruitment crisis impacts the quality and success of our research and teaching.
In this time of uncertainty, your leadership is needed more than ever. I urge the UC leadership to direct their bargaining team to negotiate in good faith with our colleagues in UPTE. Delivering life-changing research and education depends on it.