Representation Resources

  • Local agreements

    Accretion agreements

    Other agreements

  • Your Rights in the Workplace:

    I. DISCIPLINE AND JUST CAUSE

    An extremely important right guaranteed by a union contract is that an employee can only be disciplined or terminated for "just cause." Just cause means the employer cannot exercise the power to discipline and fire for capricious, arbitrary or discriminatory reasons. Specifically, just cause requires the following:

    NOTICE. Management must give the employee warning or notice that the employee is violating a rule or policy, and must tell the employee what the rule or policy is, unless the rule is obvious to anyone taking the job (such as “don’t steal from the employer”). If the rule or policy has not been enforced previously, management must notify the staff of their intention to start enforcing it prior to issuing any discipline.

    REASONABLE. The rule or policy must be reasonable and related to the orderly, efficient and safe operation of the university.

    INVESTIGATION. The employer must make an investigation to determine whether the employee did in fact violate the rule or policy cited.

    FAIR INVESTIGATION. The investigation must be conducted fairly and objectively, including interviewing witnesses.

    EVIDENCE. The university must have solid evidence of the violation of the rule or policy. You are entitled to receive copies of this evidence.

    EQUAL TREATMENT. The rules or policies must be applied equally. They cannot be applied in a disparate, discriminatory or arbitrary manner. But if our argument is that management tolerated some type of behavior before, we need proof that management knew of this behavior. Some current employees will likely be reluctant to testify that they engaged in the same conduct themselves for fear of being disciplined now, so look into whether there are former employees who could provide this testimony.

    APPROPRIATE. The “punishment must fit the crime”; the degree of discipline must be appropriate and reasonably related to (a) the seriousness of the employee's proven offense and (b) the record of the employee. 

    An important corollary is that discipline must be progressive absent serious misconduct (like theft, assault, etc). It is intended to correct a problem, not to be punitive. Management must give the employee a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem for which discipline was imposed. More severe discipline, including termination, can only follow after lesser discipline has been imposed.

    If you are facing discipline, analyze your situation using the above criteria, then contact UPTE for help.

    II. RIGHTS TO UNION REPRESENTATION DURING INVESTIGATIONS

    Before UC can interrogate you in order to investigate potential discipline of you, it must respect your right UPON YOUR REQUEST to have a union representative present in the meeting. Normally this will be your workplace rep or unit rep. If none is available at the time management desires, it must either postpone the interview or else base its decision on other information available to it. This is known as your “Weingarten” right (named after the U.S. Supreme Court case establishing such right). 

    Unfortunately the law does not require the employer to give notice to employees that they have such a right: it is up to union activists to provide this important info to their coworkers! 

    If you are representing a coworker during an investigatory interview, remember that you cannot be told to stay silent. You are allowed to take breaks and confer privately with the employee. You are allowed to ask a reasonable number of your own questions. 

    In California public sector, thanks to unions’ political power and PERB decisions, this right to have a representative present now also extends to management demands that you supply a written statement about an incident, or supply blood, urine, or hair sample or breathalyzer test, or open your locker or car for inspection. 

    However, this right does not attach to a meeting where management is announcing a disciplinary decision or a new work rule. ANY ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW RULE SHOULD LEAD YOU TO CONTACT YOUR UNIT REP OR ORGANIZER TO SEE IF WE WISH TO DEMAND UC CEASE AND DESIST AND THEN BARGAIN OVER THE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF SUCH RULE. 

    III. BASIC RIGHTS UNDER HEERA

    UC non-management employees are protected by the state Higher Education Employee-Employer Relations Act (HEERA), which is enforced by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). UPTE has several lawyers who file PERB charges once alerted to HEERA violations.

    HEERA protects employees against retaliation for concerted activity to improve working conditions (so long as they do not breach the no-strike clause in our contracts, but this clause allows all sorts of publicity activity so long as UC operations are not disrupted). 

    HEERA provides that absent a waiver in the contract, an employer cannot unilaterally change terms or conditions of employment without first notifying UPTE and giving it an opportunity to bargain at least the effects of such change. 

    Assigning work outside the bargaining unit which was exclusively done before now by those in the unit without first giving UPTE notice violates HEERA and the contract. Do not let UC get away with this: once the work is shared and this is not timely challenged, it may well be lost forever – which cuts into opportunities for UPTE members to get promoted or transferred or avoid layoff.  

    To be timely, a PERB charge must be filed within 6 months of when UPTE learns of it (or if earlier, should have learned about it if acting diligently). So make sure you promptly report issues which might give rise to a charge to your unit rep or organizer.  Continuing violations of HEERA are not subject to a 6-month statute of limitations the same way, so don't just give up and let a problem go when you think a charge would be untimely in filing; instead,  check first with your unit rep or organizer to see if the violation would be viewed as a continuing one. 

    IV. ENFORCING THE CONTRACT: THE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

    A union contract is merely a nice bunch of verbiage unless members help UPTE make sure it is enforced.  UPTE contracts provide for grievances to be processed through several steps (meetings at different levels of UC management). Ultimately the employee or union can take the matter before a neutral arbitrator (a sort of private judge selected mutually by both parties). 

    A grievance can often take well over a year before it ends up before the arbitrator (who in turn will often take 60-90 days after the hearing to decide the case). Arbitrators are limited in the remedies they can award. So organizing can often provide a better solution to unjust treatment!

    Deadlines in the grievance procedure are important: if a violation is not reported within 30 days of when the employee or UPTE learns of it (or if earlier, when they should have learned), then UC can and will reject the grievance as untimely. 

    Once a grievance is filed, there are strict timelines for the employee or union to move it to the next step. These get tricky because the deadline for us to appeal to the next step can be blown by us even if UC ignores the grievance, which they sometimes do, so it is essential to always calendar the final date to appeal!  UC management has 15 calendar days to respond at Steps 1 and 2 (30 days at Step 3).  We have just 15 days to appeal to the next step from their response or if later, from their deadline to respond. Once UCOP issues a Step 3 decision, we have 30 days to appeal to arbitration.   

    What if you think the grievance deadline has been blown? Check with your unit rep or organizer, as some violations are considered “continuing violations” (arising with each new pay period or each new instance of bad conduct similar to those before). Also, some grievances involve issues of continuing impact on employees or impact on many employees, in which case they may be unlawful unilateral changes over which we can file a PERB charge (where the statute of limitations is 6 months, not 30 days).

    IMPORTANT NEW CONTRACTUAL RIGHT: PARENTAL LEAVE ON TOP OF FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE

    One of the major gains of the 2024-5 negotiations was to achieve the 6 months’ worth of childcaring leave which nurses (but not other units) previously won at UC.  This leave is available to employees who do not qualify for more Family Medical Leave (FML), either because they work too few hours or they have used up their FML for other reasons. This leave is not subject to all the detailed requirements for FML and pregnancy leave,  such as a requirement to be used in two-week increments. What is required can be read in the contract in more detail, but the highlights are that employees need to conclude using this leave within one year of their child’s birth of placement, and need to request it in advance of the expected birth or placement. Employees combining this new parental leave with pregnancy disability leave and other disability leave can be off for up to 12 months. However, this type of leave runs concurrently with CFPB and disability leave. Therefore, those other forms of leave deduct from the 6 month total leave.

    V. OTHER LAWS UC MUST FOLLOW

    A. Skelly Hearings to Challenge Intended Discipline

    Before UC can impose a decision to discharge or suspend an employee for more than 5 days, it must provide written notice of the charges and an opportunity to respond orally and in writing to a decisionmaker other than the one who wants to impose discipline.  An informal hearing is held: if you attend such a hearing, you are entitled to have a representative of your choosing. UPTE will provide this service for its members only. Such a hearing gives you a chance to obtain more information about the charges, but also means you are likely to be questioned by the decisionmaker. 

    You and your union rep should make a strategic decision whether to participate in such a hearing, or instead wait to make presentations during the grievance procedure. 

    B. Disability Accommodation Laws Which Include That Protecting Your Need to Work at Home to Care for Disabled Family Members

    While UC has persuaded courts that it is exempt from most of the California Labor Code, it is not trying to challenge the applicability of disability accommodation laws (the California Fair Employment & Housing Act, FEHA.). FEHA defines a “disability” very broadly: it includes associating with someone who is disabled or perceived as disabled. Court decisions currently say that this includes an employee caring for a disabled family member. While all an employer must do under this law is provide “reasonable accommodation” of a disability, remote work is often a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s need to be at home to care for a disabled family member. 

    The broad definition of “disability” also includes injuries or illnesses that are not permanent in nature. Anything likely to take more than a month to be cured is something that is arguably within this definition. For example, those who have been the victims or witnessed workplace violence often suffer PTSD.

    This is a formal disability and requires accommodation. The diagnosis of disability may also provide standing for the employee to apply for short-term disability insurance, which is mandatorily provided by UC through Liberty Mutual insurance company, in lieu of California State Disability Insurance. During the payments, short-term disability insurance may require a larger employee contribution to medical insurance than what the employee normally pays.

    For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, currently San Francisco Kaiser provides an excellent outpatient treatment plan of 3 days each week, and UCSF provides an excellent outpatient treatment plan of 5 days each week.

    As an additional stewarding note: it is important in all situations which involve medical information, that the employee be advised to transmit medical information only to the campus disability manager. This person acts as a trained HIPAA officer to get all medical details relevant to evaluating the employee's ability, to perform the essential functions of the job, and to discuss only the physician's requested accommodations with the employee's departmental human resources and supervisor. It is quite common for the steward to discover that the employee has already released HIPAA protected medical information to the supervisor. In this case, the employee should be advised to refrain from this practice in the future.

    In line with this intent for medical privacy, the employee will have to notify the disability manager that the manager is expected to discuss, the case and any meetings, with the union steward who is representing the employee. The steward must be very careful not to release HIPAA information unless directed (in writing/email) by the employee as to what to reveal and to whom. We have found that it is useful to remind the disability manager not to release medical information other than the requested accommodation to the employee's department/supervisor.

    REMEDIES: While UPTE can assist with accommodation issues at the initial grievance steps, these issues are often handled best by outside lawyers on a contingency basis, as the remedies available in court under FEHA/ADA exceed those available in the grievance process, including emotional distress damages,  punitive damages, and attorneys fees. Lawyers who specialize in this work can be located on the website of the California Employment Lawyers Association, www.cela.org.

    • UPTE Policy Against Discrimination & Harassment in Internal Union Matters

    • UPTE Internal Union Discrimination/Complaint Checklist

  • Past UPTE Agreements

    Research Professionals Unit (RX)

    Technical Professionals Unit (TX)

    Healthcare Professionals Unit (HX)

    Local Agreements

    Physical Therapist Accretion TA 9/2016

  • To download or view a summary of layoff and preferential rehire practices by campus or worksite, please click here.

  • Starting January 1, 2005, California employers will have more power to control medical care for injured workers, due to the new workers’ comp bill passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. An injured worker used to be able to choose any doctor after the first month of treatment is completed. After January 1, if you are injured on the job, you will have to pick from a pool of doctors who belong to tightly controlled physician networks organized by employers and their insurers.

    That is, unless you “predesignate” your physician. Employers who provide group health insurance, as UC does, must allow you to choose your doctor to treat your injury, but only if you submit a personal physician form to your employer. Even if you have previously completed such a form, do it again because the laws have changed.

    Don't delay. Fill out this form and send it in - with your doctor's signature if possible. Give it to your departmental human resources manager, and keep a copy for yourself.

    If you need more information or help, contact your local UPTE representative.