UC-AFT Systemwide Officer Candidate Statements 2012-2013

President

Bob Samuels-Incumbent

As President of UC-AFT, I will continue to work to help defend the rights and professional status of all members in Units 17 and 18. In the last couple of years, I have brought our issues to the national media, and I have helped to make us a central player in the UC union coalition.  I have also served as the President of the CFT council for universities, and I continue to work on our relationship with AFT.

While we have faced tremendous threats to the jobs of our members, it is important to point out that during my term in office, we have seen substantial improvement in the salaries and security of people in both units, and on the grievance and enforcement side, we have won several recent cases, and we have also won important arbitration and Public Employment Relations Board cases.  I want to thank Alan Karras and our staff for their work in these areas.

I also want to thank Miki Goral and Mike Rotkin for their continued leadership in helping to protect the status of librarians.  Our recent negotiations over the Unit 17 contract have not been easy, and we will continue to work on improving the organized strength of this unit. Miki has also been instrumental in our effort to improve the financial stability of UC-AFT.

Finally, I would like to continue to professionalize our union and work with our Executive Director to help support and coordinate our staff, while I work with Axel Borg on increasing our political clout. I look forward to increasing the activism of all members in our union.

Vice President for Grievances

Alan Karras-incumbent

Working for UC, and living in California, is not easy these days.  There is so much that can and does go wrong with local and state governments that it is often hard to figure out who is to blame, let alone and more importantly, how to fix it. It is, however, this last phrase upon which I want to focus: “how to fix it.” The office that I again seek to fill, with your support, is the Vice-President for Grievances. It is a job that I know well, and a job that I believe I have done well. And most of the job is really figuring out how to fix contractual issues that arise in both the lecturers’ and the librarians’ contracts.  Doing that takes up dozens of hours each month, because we have, frankly, a bad and disorganized, perhaps even an obstructionist employer.

The past year has been in many ways more challenging than previous years. Though our contracts were both settled, they continued to be violated on a regular basis, sometimes unintentionally, but more often than not by people at UC who could not bother to consult the Labor Relations or Academic Personnel Offices. On a regular basis, those offices also failed to correct clear errors. This has, of course, led to using the grievance process and, more than in the past, taking cases to arbitration and to PERB. When we have used the former, we have won. We recently concluded a very lengthy case at PERB, where PERB had issued a complaint against the UCLA law school for inappropriately classifying lecturers as adjunct professors—thus depriving them of contractual protection. The case, however, won’t be finished for quite a while, as each side has to prepare briefs and then whichever party loses can appeal the decision to the PERB board itself. The cases are time-consuming, require someone with extensive knowledge of the labor agreements and their history, and someone who is regularly able to work with counsel, which is in Oakland, near the Berkeley campus where I am employed.  I believe I have all of the requisite assets for the job

In addition, our Union has many cases around the state. I have worked with almost all of the stewards on the campuses, as well as the staff, in advising how to proceed at the local level while simultaneously trying to gain traction on the issues with UCOP. This too has been time consuming and not always successful, as UCOP has a penchant for talking tough against the campuses but then not standing up to them when the time comes for that.  Our members have come to regard the Union as a sort of insurance policy, which is I think a testament to our success with grievances over the last few years.  If reelected, I intend to work harder at reaching out to our members and getting them to be more proactive in defending their rights—and telling us their issues before it is too late for us to do anything. That will make all of our jobs that much easier in the coming months and years.

But even if members, for whatever reason, are not able to do more, we must be prepared to assist them. We must continue to insist on enforcing the contracts we negotiated and we must continue to negotiate better contracts.  We must continue to force UCOP to enforce the system-wide contracts that they negotiate, even as they demur to renegade campuses. We must continue to litigate when all else fails, though we must also weigh the costs of litigation against the benefits that it will bring.

And then there is union governance. I have really enjoyed working with the Executive Board this year, as a new strategic direction has been planned. Though I have not been taking the lead on that process, I have been making sure that the central role that contracts play is not minimized.  For most of our members, defending the contractual protections is the single most important thing that we do—and showing members how those contractual protections are dependent on macro-issues, those outside UC, is where we need to move next as an organization.

It has been my great privilege and pleasure to work on grievances and resolve them to the satisfaction of all parties. I hope that this will merit re-election.

Roy Vallis

Dear sisters and brothers,

I have been a member of the University Council of the American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) for more than a decade.  This year, I have decided to run for election for the office of Vice President of Grievances.  There are three very simple reasons for this that I believe also show my commitment and preparation for this position.

The first is my belief in union representation, and my sudden awareness that to sit and be represented is, for me, to sit in the sidelines.  Participation is essential to a strong union.  The union is a democracy, and democracy is participatory.   I watched my own father—a tradesman—work actively for years to get union recognition, which meant he could give his family a decent chance at a living, finally.   He didn’t do that by being a member alone.

The second is my personal experiences with grievances: I have a severely disabled son who suffers from autism.  He is 13 years old, and since his diagnosis at 18 months, our family has been in a nonstop legal battle with the state, the county, the school district, and a host of lawyers to fight for services supposedly guaranteed by law.  Our family has long realized the significance of representation and the imperative to know your rights.

The third reason is my professional attempts to re-educate myself in the field of law.   I was compelled to return to law school, perhaps as much out of anger and frustration as much as a strong need to gain knowledge.  I worked hard for two years and was suddenly confronted with the realization that I am, first and foremost, a teacher, a father and a union member.  Two more years would not change my calling, only my career.  I can do more for teachers as a teacher.

Finally, I have joined the local Santa Barbara grievance committee, and I look forward to getting to know both more of our members and officers.

I look forward to the opportunity to serve our union.

In unity,

Roy Vallis

Vice President for Legislation

 Axel E Borg- Incumbent

Dear sisters and brothers,

I have served as Vice President for Legislation of the University Council of the American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) for two years. I have decided to run again for election in that same office. The last two years have seen many changes in both the working conditions that we face in the University of California and the challenges that we face as union members. I look forward to continuing to serve librarians and lecturers across the University of California System.

Over the last year I have continued to work with Bob Samuels on getting more budget accountability and transparency in the University of California and especially in the Office of the President (UCOP). I am working on Regent reform and to that end I am representing UC-AFT in various union coalitions. I am also working with our sister unions and the California Federation of Labor to achieve Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) reform. I have been working with CFT to explore ways in which we can increase representation in the UC System. I continue to work closely with our Executive Board and our Executive Director in representing UC-AFT in a variety of legislative and union venues.

This last year has seen the emergence of the Occupy movement and I have been working with the various facets of that movement both at the campus and at the regional level. Recently I was asked to be part of a team that presented to the CFT Executive Board about the Occupy movement and to urge that CFT take a more active role in supporting the Occupy movement.

I believe strongly in unions and their role in self empowerment. Unions function best when members are involved, it is how I came to this position myself and I feel that by my standing for the rights of others, others will stand for me. I believe that the promise of the University of California as the leading public university in the world, has been betrayed by the current leadership and our Union, UC-AFT has taken a leadership role in fighting to restore that promise of public higher education. I seek to make others aware of our efforts and of the broken promise through legislative action.

I continue to learning from our colleagues on Executive Board. Our Union is fortunate to have members who have stepped forward at both the campus and statewide level. Not only have they stepped forward they are truly a remarkable group and I look forward to continuing to work with and serve both the officers and members of UC-AFT.

I support the reelection of the current Executive Board and while I look forward to the opportunity to serve you.

In solidarity,

Axel E. Borg

Vice President for Organizing

Mike Rotkin-incumbent

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I am pleased to be running for re-election as Vice President for Organizing of the University Council of the American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). I have belonged to the organization since its formation in the late 1980s. I served as Chief Negotiator for Unit 18 Lecturers for two decades until 2001 and briefly again a few years ago. I have been on every bargaining team for Unit 18 since the organization was founded. I have served as President of the UCSC local (AFT 2199) since the late 1980s until the present and have handled the majority of UCSC Unit 18 grievances during that period. I have also served previously as the statewide Vice President for Grievances and Vice President for Legislation. Currently, I am serving as the Chief Negotiator for Unit 17 Librarians. I also had previous union experience in AFSCME (before there was an AFT at UC), and in the UAW in the 1960s when I worked in an automobile plant. I was the AFSCME delegate to the Santa Cruz County Central Labor Council for almost ten years and served on its Executive Board for most of that time.

First, let me explain that I have now retired from my job as a lecturer and field study coordinator at UCSC. I was forced into retirement because the Community Studies program with which I worked since 1969 is being closed down. I believe that, in general, our members should be represented by officers in the UC-AFT who are active employees of UC. So see myself serving as VP of Organizing and E-Board members and local president for about one or, at the most, two years. One of my responsibilities will be helping to identify and train others to replace me within a year or two.

As I wrote in last-year’s candidate statement for this position, I believe that unions can only effectively represent the interests of their members when the members are well-organized and prepared to speak up and stand up for themselves. Developing effective union membership involves a process of empowerment that does not happen automatically. While it is true that, ultimately, the members are responsible for the state of their own organization, the job of union leadership, and particularly the Vice President for Organizing, is to build rank and file power within the union. As leaders, we have to create the conditions that foster activism on the part of our members by demonstrating to the members that their active involvement is necessary for our success and that, if they are active, we can succeed in changing the conditions of work at UC and our compensation for it.

I believe that we have made some real headway in developing a more strategic approach to our union work during this past year. I am currently involved, along with the rest of the Executive Board and our staff, in developing a new approach to our work that will put more emphasis on taking on the State and UC-wide issues that so directly impact the lives of our members. The only way we can do this is to use these strategic political struggles to engage more of our members as activists. Consequently, we have decided to have the E-Board meet more regularly, to develop our first statewide strategic plan, increase the level of staff training, and to have the E-Board work more closely with staff and members on the campuses to increase our organization’s impact on issues like the State budget and UC priorities.

I see the E-Board and, specifically, the VP for Organizing playing a key role in this transformation of our organization. Because I am now retired from the City Council and from UC, I am in a better position than I ever have been to take on the additional work necessary for a successful transition toward a more activist organization capable of doing more strategic statewide work. My approach here is not to just cajole or blame our members for their relative lack of activism, but to work with our staff, other members of the E-Board, and members on the campuses to help engage our members in the level of activism necessary to address the current crisis in higher education.

I have a great deal of interest in labor organizing and building effective labor organizations. My teaching job at UCSC in the Community Studies Department, where I was employed from 1969 until the end of 2011, is focused on labor and community organizing and other activist concerns. I have been an effective labor and community organizer for all of my adult life. My experience includes creating successful neighborhood groups, having been elected six times to the Santa Cruz City Council, and recently having completed my fifth term as Mayor of Santa Cruz.

If re-elected to the position of VP for Organizing, I will do my utmost to provide our members with the leadership necessary to build a strong and effective union. Those who have worked with me know that my organizing style is energetic but inclusive. I understand that one cannot be effective in building an activist culture and participatory membership in a union with an overbearing or authoritarian style of leadership.

If re-elected, I intend to step up my commitment and involvement in this work. We must resist the University’s tendency to gut essential educational services in favor of support for their profit centers, building bigger buildings, approving more and bigger bonuses for top executives, and other mistaken priorities. I intend to work even more closely than in the past with the rest of the Executive Board, our Executive Director María Elena Cortez, our Communications Director Bill Quirk, and our field reps in developing the kind of organizing and political strategy necessary for success in resisting UC President Yudof and the Regents in terms of where they would like to take UC.

I take a great deal of pleasure in working with my colleagues in the UC-AFT and helping to empower all of us to create an effective organization that can help us win the compensation, benefits, and working conditions that every worker deserves. I hope that you will support my re-election to the position of VP for Organizing. I also support the re-election of all of the incumbents running for re-election to the Executive Board of the UC-AFT. I believe they have been an effective, collaborative, and extremely hard-working group in representing the interests of all of our members.

In solidarity,

 Mike Rotkin 

Secretary-Treasurer

Miki Goral-incumbent

I am running for re-election as UC-AFT Secretary Treasurer. I have had the honor of serving UC-AFT in various capacities since 1983, when I first joined the Unit 17 (Librarians) bargaining team as the record-keeper, later becoming the Chief Negotiator.  I have led the Unit 17 negotiating teams from 1984 to 2007, when I passed the reins to UC-AFT Vice-President Mike Rotkin. I remain involved as Chief Negotiator Emeritus and look forward to a challenging bargaining with the University this spring.

In 1984, I was elected Secretary of UC-AFT, an office I held until 1986, when I became Treasurer. In 1999, a re-structuring of the Council combined the duties of Secretary and Treasurer into one position, which I have held since then. During my tenure as a Council officer, I have worked with a number of officeholders and Executive Directors and can provide a context of continuity for the work of the organization.

The Secretary-Treasurer’s duties are set out in the By-Laws: namely to record and disseminate minutes of Council meetings and to be responsible for all monies received and paid out by UC-AFT.  I have developed and streamlined procedures to fulfill the duties of the job efficiently and accurately. I have striven to monitor the union’s finances and ensure that our funds are used wisely for the benefit of our members.

While most of the union’s work is focused on representing our members and enforcing the contracts we have negotiated, we must not forget that UC-AFT is part of the larger union movement in the United States.  I serve as a vice-president of the California Federation of Teachers, representing the interests of UC-AFT and university academic employees, along with UC-AFT President Bob Samuels, in that body.

UC-AFT is embarking on a path to re-invigorate our organization, creating a strategic plan and involving more of our members in the day-to-day work of the union. As times change, so to does the way we work and organize ourselves. I look forward to participating in a thoughtful evaluation of the organization and coming up with suggestions for change as we move forward.

With unions facing an increasingly hostile media throughout the country, it is important that we strengthen our union and take a more visible role representing the rights of workers in the university and society and educating the public about the benefits of collective action.

Miki Goral