Bargaining Update #2: UPTE’s bargaining team presents our first work/life balance proposals
On June 25-26th, your UPTE bargaining team passed our first set of work-life balance proposals, focused on priorities set by you and your coworkers regarding Vacation, Holidays, and Sick Time.
We also rallied at Mission Bay on Tuesday and Parnassus on Wednesday to put our solidarity on full display for UC administrators, and send a message that we're united and ready to act to win the world-class agreement we deserve. Check out photos (Facebook,Instagram, Twitter) and a video recap (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) on UPTE social media, and share to help us build momentum.
UPTE's Work/Life Balance Proposals
Vacation Proposal:
24 vacation days per year at hire
Right to cash out accrued vacation days
Automatic cash out of vacation accruals if at maximum
Management must provide alternate vacation dates if a request is denied
No revocation of approved vacation except in emergencies
Sick Leave Proposal:
5 days of bereavement, in addition to sick leave, which would cover miscarriage and IVF failure
Sick leave for Per Diem workers
Holidays Proposal:
Add Juneteenth and 7 floating holidays
Improved holiday pay
Guarantee for at least 1 major 2-day holiday off
Our research shows that UPTE members' combined holidays, sick, and vacation accruals are far below competitor institutions as well as other workers at UC.
UC Librarians and Academic Researchers start their careers with 24 days of vacation, 9 more than UPTE members.
UC managers start with 3 more vacation days than us, increasing to 6 more at their 5 year anniversary.
By their 11-year anniversary, many Kaiser workers get between 8-12 more total days off than UPTE members - as well as up to 5 bereavement days.
UPTE's proposal for 7 floating holidays would help workers subject to mandatory winter campus closures, celebrate holidays that the University does not recognize, and provide more time off to recover from stressful periods at work.
In response to UPTE's proposal to provide sick leave to Per Diem workers, the University asked whether "there was any thought to lowering per diem pay in exchange for a costly benefit?" UPTE was clear that it would not because sick leave is a mutual benefit for the employer, protecting workers from having to come in to work sick and infecting other colleagues and patients.
The University's actions thus far run completely counter to their claim that their "priorities [...] include fair pay and quality benefits, supportive working conditions, and efficient, good-faith negotiations."
UC once again made no proposals to address the crisis of burnout, recruitment, and retention and did not address any of our priorities: pay, classification, work-life balance, job security, or staffing. Instead, UC's clearest and most significant proposal thus far would prevent UPTE leaders from directly approaching our managers to resolve workplace issues, unless the manager agrees in advance.
UC's bargaining team did not respond to UPTE's proposal regarding classification and career progression. More than 300 UPTE members joined bargaining rallies on Tuesday and Wednesday. Despite advance requests to meet when workers would be available to observe, the UC bargaining team left the room rather than face 150 workers who came out on their Tuesday lunch break.
UC continues to insist on having nearly identical conversations for healthcare workers on one day and research and technical workers the next day. UPTE has repeatedly proposed to discuss all bargaining units at the same time, which the University continues to reject - inevitably dragging negotiations out unnecessarily.
UC knows that we have the power to force them to invest in those of us that make patient care, research, and education happen.
That's why UC bargaining team's priorities are to keep you out of the room, in the dark, and unable to address problems directly in the workplace while they drag out negotiations.
Let's work together to reset their priorities: reach out if you can help us schedule an UPTE Strike School for you and your colleagues, where we'll learn our rights and strategy to win.
Our next bargaining session will be at UCLA on July 18-19th. UCLA members, watch for an email with information on how to participate!
