Unit 18 Bargaining Update #4

Please accept my apologies for the lack of communication after our last bargaining session in August; there was little to report then of any significance, as the meeting produced little in the way of progress. In short, the University refused to discuss anything economic (salary and merit) until AFTER the November election. So, we basically took stock of the three other open articles: Layoff, Process for Initial Continuing Appointments, and Grievance.

The succinct version of the state of affairs is that the University has offered what we consider to be an insufficient improvement in the notice of reduction in time. UC-AFT is pushing for increasing the required layoff notice for those who face reductions of time of more than one class. The current contract requires UC to provide 60 days notice for those who are reduced more than one class but who are not completely laid off. We are trying to get into a range where subsequent reductions include an additional 30-45 days for each class that is reduced. 

On the Process for Initial Continuing Appointments article, the University wants to be able to terminate an excellence review if the department determines that need has changed and a lecturer won't be needed the following year. We are refusing to provide UC with a green light, as we think the current contract language provides better protection for both the lecturer and the University.  We are, in other words, at a stalemate here.  

In the Grievance article, the University has proposed language requiring UCOP to issue Step III decisions before a case can move to arbitration, but we are currently not supportive of making this change because we believe it will delay final resolution of some cases and, as importantly, we discussed this issue last year and resolved it. We made it clear that without some money on the table, a package deal on all five open articles will be hard to achieve. 

So both sides agreed that meeting before the election would not be productive; we went into a hiatus, and did not meet in September. In the interim, Peter Chester, the University's lead negotiator for the lecturer contract was promoted to the role of Director of Labor Relations. He appointed two new negotiators, and I met them for the first time last week. We are just now beginning the process of resuming bargaining meetings in November. If the ballot measure (Prop 30)  passes, we will be discussing salary increases and changes to the merit scale before the end of 2012. If Prop 30 fails, then we will decide whether or not continuing the current reopener can yield anything productive--as the University will not likely be offering any salary increases. (We have repeatedly made the case to the UC team that the success or failure of the ballot measure does not preclude salary increases; UC asserts that they will not discuss any money at all, with anyone, until the fate of the ballot measure is determined.)

We might be comfortable ending the current reopeners on Salary and Merit, since we have another reopener scheduled to begin early in 2013. Salary will again reopen, as will the benefits article--and three additional articles (including a new one on Online Education). We will shortly be sending you a survey about the issue of proposed changes to UCRP, which is part of the Benefits article. For now, at least, rest assured that we are working to make sure that the lecturer contract is strengthened and that there will be a salary increase as soon as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact your local field rep with any questions.

Alan Karras
Chief Negotiator, UC-AFT Lecturer Contract
Senior Lecturer, International and Area Studies, UCB