As a UC-AFT faculty member, you’re entitled to fair wages. Our collective bargaining agreement (CBA) generally provides for minimum salaries and raises, giving departments, programs, and school discretion to set wages higher than the minimum. In our most recent contract fight, we won raises averaging 30% over the life of the contract, including immediate 9.5% raises for lecturers at the lowest end of the salary scale.
Here we address some of the most frequently asked questions about how wages and benefits work at UC. We encourage you not to rely solely on your department chair, managers, or other administrative staff for information about the wages and benefits you’re entitled to. They may misrepresent the terms of our contract and the flexibility it provides them to pay you more. If you have additional questions or concerns about your compensation, contact your local chapter.
In 2021, UC-AFT members won a salary scale for fair and transparent compensation. Every lecturer should have a full-time salary rate that appears on the scale. Supervisors of Teacher Education and K-12 teachers have separate salary scales. All departments, programs, and schools are given flexibility in implementing these scales. You can and should negotiate a starting salary that reflects your experience, credentials, and expertise.
The points on the salary scale represent rates for 100% full-time compensation. Our CBA affords salary parity for full-time and part-time teaching faculty, meaning that part-time salaries are proportional to full-time salaries and reflect a percentage of the full-time rate that appears on the scale. For example, a lecturer with a 50% appointment is entitled to half the compensation of a similar lecturer in the same department with a 100% appointment.
View our 2022 salary scales here Salary Scale February 2022 and Salary Transition
A General Range Adjustment is a salary increase that applies to every point on a salary scale and is thus received by everyone on that scale. General Range Adjustments keep our salaries competitive and ensure that they reflect California’s high cost of living. UC-AFT members negotiate General Range Adjustments every time we bargain our contract.
General Range Adjustments are distinct from Merit Increases, which teaching faculty receive on an individual basis for their service and experience. When you receive a Merit Increase, your salary goes up to a higher point on the salary scale. Individual faculty who are not receiving a Merit Increase at the same time that a General Range Adjustment is implemented will receive a raise while remaining at the same point on the salary scale. Individual faculty who do receive a Merit Increase at the same time that a General Range Adjustment is implemented will go up the salary scale an appropriate number of points. Their new point on the salary scale will have increased by the amount of the General Range Adjustment.
Merit Increases are specific to an individual and are usually provided upon a reappointment, promotion, or positive Merit Review. In the 2021 CBA, UC-AFT members tripled the number of opportunities for Merit Increases. You can expect to receive a Merit Increase when:
- You get your first two-year reappointment (minimum 1 step/3%)
- You get a new three-year reappointment (minimum 1 step/3%)
- You get promoted to a Continuing Appointment (minimum 2 steps/6.1%)
- You have a positive Merit Review, every 3 years after your Continuing Appointment, (minimum 2 steps/6.1%)
- You get promoted to a Senior Continuing Appointment (minimum 3 steps/9.25%)
- You have a positive Merit Review, every 3 years after your Senior Continuing Appointment (minimum 3 steps/9.25%)
Importantly, our CBA sets only the floor for minimum Merit Increases. Departments, programs, and schools can and do award higher than those minimums specifically authorized by our CBA.
View Article 17, Article 7A, Article 7B, Article 7C, Article 7D, Article X
Our CBA ensures that your salary will be calculated proportional to your workload. The UC measures workload in terms of Instructional Workload Credits (IWC). While UC management has repeatedly refused to negotiate a standardized definition of an IWC that would apply to all campuses, we have fought hard to ensure transparency that protects us from workload creep. You may notice that what your department considers a full-time workload is different from other programs. We encourage you to share information about workload with colleagues on your campus as we build towards our next contract campaign.
Our CBA sets the maximum workload at 9 IWCs on quarter campuses and 6 IWCs on semester campuses. Many departments, programs, and schools have full-time workloads that are below these maximums. Every department, program, and school is required to define and make public their workload policies.
Our CBA also sets guidelines for how courses should be weighted with an IWC value. A basic course that meets ~3 hours per week and entails lesson planning, office hours, and grading is typically worth 1 IWC. Large lecture classes with more than 200 students, writing-intensive classes, classes including lab supervision, classes that require supervision of multiple TAs, and some other types of labor-intensive classes are typically worth more than 1 IWC.
Your appointment percentage is based on the number of IWCs you teach and how your department/program/school defines a full-time workload. That appointment percentage is then used to calculate your gross salary based on the full-time salary rate. It is important to keep track of how your department defines an IWC and full-time workload so you can ensure you are being paid all of the wages that you deserve. If you’re offered a 0% or Without Salary (WOS) appointment, reach out for guidance before you accept it.
Here’s some examples of how these calculations work:
- Lecturer A teaches 1 class each quarter in a department where the full-time workload is 6 IWC. Each class taught by Lecturer A is considered 1 IWC.
3 classes per academic year = 3 IWC / 6 IWC full-time workload = 50% appointment
→ Lecturer A is entitled to 50% of full-time salary paid over 12 paychecks from August 1 to July 1.
- Lecturer B teaches 2 classes each semester in a department where the full-time workload is 6 IWC. Each class taught by Lecturer B is considered 1.5 IWC because they have 250 students and 5 TAs.
4 classes per academic year = 6 IWC / 6 IWC full-time workload = 100% appointment
→ Lecturer B is entitled to 100% of full-time salary paid over 12 paychecks from August 1 to July 1.
- Lecturer C teaches 5 classes total each academic year in a department where the full-time workload is 9 IWC. Lecturer C teaches winter and spring quarters only. 3 of Lecturer C’s classes are worth 1 IWC. 2 of Lecturer C’s classes are worth 1.25 IWC.
5 classes per academic year = 5.5 IWC / 9 IWC full-time workload = 61.11%
→ Lecturer C is entitled to 61.11% of full-time salary paid over six paychecks from February 1 to July 1.
- Lecturer D teaches 3 classes during one semester in a department where the full-time workload is 3 IWC per semester and 6 IWC per academic year. Each of Lecturer D’s classes is worth 1 IWC.
3 classes per semester = 3 IWC / 3 IWC full-time workload for a single semester = 100% appointment for one semester = 100% full-time salary for one semester
→ Lecturer D is entitled to 50% of full-time salary paid over five paychecks from September 1 to January 1.
Workload and salary calculations can seem inconsistent and confusing, and often they are! Members of your campus chapter can help you set up a meeting with your colleagues in your department to address issues around workload.
A service period is the time frame during which you are expected to be actively working. A pay period is the time frame during which you receive compensation for the work you complete during a service period. More info on UC’s 2023-2024 pay periods here.
You will sometimes receive paychecks that compensate you retroactively for the pay period that recently ended. For example, a November 1 paycheck includes wages for the work you did between October 1 and October 31. In other cases, you may receive paychecks during times outside of your service period when you’re not actively teaching. For example, if you have an appointment for one or two quarters, or one semester only, you will likely receive your first paycheck after the term begins and your final paycheck after the term–and your active service–has already concluded.
You should receive compensation for all the work you do during your periods of active service, even if your paycheck is issued outside of those active service periods. The UC Path payroll system is notoriously ineffective, resulting in overpayments, underpayments, and other major errors. Check your pay stub regularly. Make sure you have received the raises that you’re owed. Make sure your union dues are being deducted. Make sure your benefits deductions are as you intend. You can contact your local chapter leaders or grievance steward if you have questions or encounter problems.
If you have a full academic year appointment that covers all three quarters/two semesters, you will receive paychecks during the summer months, even though the summer is outside the regular academic year service period. Receiving a paycheck over the summer does not mean you should be working during the summer! These summer paychecks are compensation for the work you already have done in the previous academic year and will do in the future during the next academic year. Because summer is not a default service period, many pre-continuing Unit 18 faculty (especially those who do not teach during Summer Sessions) are eligible for unemployment insurance during the summer months when they are not on active service, even if they receive paychecks year round.
We encourage you not to do unpaid work outside of your active service periods. Teaching faculty deserve fair compensation for all the work we do to support our students, our departments, and our campuses. Performing unpaid work devalues our labor and our contributions. Talk with your colleagues about your wages and workloads. Exploitation is made possible by a lack of transparency, which leaves people feeling isolated and alone. Solidarity and information-sharing is the solution.
Benefits eligibility can depend on a number of factors. It is therefore important to speak with a UC-AFT leader or staff member to make sure your particular situation is well-understood. But here are the basics:
UC-AFT members have fought for and won parity with tenure-stream faculty for health and retirement benefits.
If you teach for the full academic year (all 3 quarters/2 semesters) with a combined appointment of 50% or above, you’re eligible for full health and retirement benefits. In this case, you are covered for 12 months of the calendar year even though you’re only on active service for the 9 months of the academic year.
If you teach for one quarter, one semester, or two quarters during the regular academic year with a combined appointment between 43.75% and 49.99%, you’re eligible for Core benefits (a high-deductible catastrophic coverage plan).
More information about health benefits eligibility can be found here: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/eligibility/index.html
UCOP offers two retirement plans: one is a traditional pension (“Pension Choice,” also known as a defined benefits plan), and the other is a 401(k)-style plan (“Savings Choice,” also known as a defined contribution plan).
Pension Choice is generally a more secure option that provides a guaranteed benefit payout when you retire. The amount depends on your age, accrued service credit, and salary prior to retirement. Pension Choice is less subject to market volatility, but you only vest in the pension (i.e., become eligible to receive the benefits) after 5 combined years of service credit. If you have a 50% appointment, it takes 10 years of work to accrue 5 combined years of service credit.
With Savings Choice, you choose how to invest your funds. The benefit amount you receive depends on your investment choices and market performance.
More information about retirement benefits eligibility can be found here: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/retirement-benefits/index.html
Summer Sessions appointments do not include health care coverage, but as a result of a victory by UC-AFT members, they do entitle you to a small retirement benefit. Be sure to check your Summer Sessions paychecks to make sure you’re receiving contributions to the Defined Contribution Plan (DCP).
