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University Council-AFT Insider July 2015

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University Council-AFT Insider                    
July 7, 2015
 

In this issue:

  • UCI Lecturers Take Fight for Stable Appointments to the Bargaining Table
  • Lecturer Bargaining Update #6—Layoff, Workload, Summer Sessions…
  • Supreme Court to Hear Friedrichs v CTA:  Will Fair Share Stand?
  • Protect Your Social Security—End the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset

UCI Lecturers Take Fight for Stable Appointments to the Bargaining Table
At the June 11 bargaining session in Irvine, a large group of UCI lecturers read a statement to UC’s negotiators about how instability in pre-continuing appointments affects lecturers and lowers the quality of education we provide to UC students. Please take a minute to watch this short video of your lecturer colleagues in action.  Contact your local’s field rep to help plan a bargaining support action on your campus.

Lecturer Bargaining Update #6—Layoff, Workload, Summer Sessions…
Unit 18 Negotiations resumed with sessions on June 11-12 in Irvine and 17-18 in San Diego. Proposals were exchanged on Layoff, Summer Sessions, Professional Development, Workload and the Grievance and Arbitration articles.  Please take a moment to read bargaining update #6, and check the Unit 18 Bargaining Blog for our bargaining update archive and a list of future bargaining dates.

Supreme Court to Hear Friedrichs v CTA:  Will Fair Share Stand?
On June 30, the Supreme Court granted review in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which calls into question the future of the fair share fee. The legal precedent for the fair share fee reaches back to 1977’s Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, when the Court ruled that all members of a bargaining unit must pay their fair share of the cost of representation. Abood balanced competing freedom of speech and association claims from both sides by leaving membership optional but making payment compulsory. In California, the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act was amended in 2000 to include the fair share fee. This chart shows the dramatic salary increases that UC-AFT has negotiated for lecturers since fair share was enacted.  Check out our webpage on Friedrichs v. CTA for more analysis and media coverage.

Protect Your Social Security--End the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset
Teachers across the State of California are working to eliminate two programs that reduce earned Social Security payments for government employees who also have a defined benefit pension. As UC-AFT works in contract negotiations to secure retirement benefits, including Social Security, for part-time lecturers, we also want to secure the retirement of our members who have spent portions of their careers working in the private sector and have earn Social Security credit. The Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset both significantly reduce Social Security payments for workers who are also receive payment from a government pension. The California State Legislature just passed a joint resolution to Congress asking them to repeal these programs. Please add your voice to this issue by signing this petition.

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The University Council – American Federation of Teachers is an affiliate of the California Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO.