Dispatch from Negotiations: "Every minute UC wastes in negotiations is a minute we use to get more organized"
We've been bargaining for two months. Over 10 days of bargaining, we have heard from Pharmacists who don't have the necessary staff to save lives in the emergency room, counselors who don't have enough colleagues to keep students from dropping out - or worse, and researchers whose breakthroughs in cancer treatment and climate change are being put at risk because UC can't retain qualified staff.
And yet, UC isn't engaging. The administration's bargaining team has proposed no improvements to wages, career progression, proper classification, job protections, or time off, all while trying to keep you and your coworkers out of the process.
This is disappointing - but not surprising. In our last contract negotiations, UC only began to take negotiations and their legal obligations seriously after multiple strikes. As we have seen at UC, Kaiser, in Hollywood, and at the big 3 automakers, strikes are working people's most powerful tool in negotiations.
In addition to their day jobs at UC, UPTE's Unit and Workplace Representatives have been hard at work spreading the word about what's happening in negotiations and helping to organize rallies and "pack the table actions" at each UC campus we visit for bargaining. Now, it's crucial that we show UC that we can mobilize in numbers to put strength in numbers behind our demands at the table.
It's time to call all of our colleagues across departments and job titles together for mass meetings this month. Find a meeting date, time, and location near you by visiting upte.org/massmeeting and selecting your campus from the dropdown menu.
Even if you have been following along with bargaining so far, or are already committed to taking whatever steps are needed to win the contract we deserve (up to and including a strike), I still encourage you to join us at this meeting. Your presence helps others see that they aren't alone, and demonstrates that we will take whatever next steps lie ahead together.
If you are unsure about whether you would participate in a possible strike, have questions about bargaining, or worries and concerns that you'd like to discuss, this is also an excellent opportunity for you to learn more.
No matter who you are, or what level of involvement you have in our union, I hope to see you at one of these important meetings in the month of August: upte.org/massmeeting
In solidarity,
Dan Russell
UPTE President & Chief Negotiator
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