We Packed the Room: Amazing show of support from faculty, students & librarians!
Nearly 100 members and supporters attended bargaining and our rally in Berkeley. It became clear in this session that UC-AFT and UC have radically different visions for the future of Pre-Continuing Appointment and Reappointment process and rights.
UC-AFT Faculty continued bargaining on June 4 at UC Riverside. Session #2 covered Instructional Support, Non-Discrimination in Employment and Professional Concerns, Meetings and Programs. Members from UCLA, Berkeley, Santa Cruz and Riverside all gave great testimony on Instructional Support issues.
First Victory: Keeping bargaining sessions open and transparent!
The UC-AFT bargaining team started the session by winning several concessions from Management regarding the ground rules governing bargaining sessions. Prior to the Bargaining kick-off, UCOP circulated a proposed list of highly restrictive ground rules -- most notably a rule that would have closed bargaining sessions and prevented our members from attending.
In an historic outpouring of support, our librarian members ratified their new Memorandum of Understanding by a 98% margin. Despite the vote taking place during spring break, when many librarians were traveling, 94% of members voted.
On April 3rd, we had a sunshine meeting with UC management. Sunshine meetings are legally mandated opportunities for public comment on initial proposals before bargaining begins in earnest. To enable public access to the meetings, we proposed holding them on the Berkeley campus. We were disappointed when UCOP insisted on having them behind a locked door in an office suite in Oakland. (PERB case law gives employers the sole authority to decide on sunshine locations.)
As our bargaining campaign begins, our Contract Campaign Committee is asking UC-AFT members to ratify our intial bargaining demands. These demands represent not simply a vision for a better future, but concrete goals we’re committed to fighting for in order to improve our students’ education and our own working conditions. Your ratification will demonstrate that UC-AFT faculty are united behind these demands and thereby strengthen our leverage at the bargaining table.
UC-AFT faculty leaders met with the UC Office of the President on January 30, 2019, at UC Irvine. Our goal was to set the tone for the bargaining to come and, as our current contract requires, share “issues of concern” that we plan to negotiate. More than 30 lecturers packed the room to bear witness to how UC management’s current practices harm education for UC students, and UC-AFT President, Mia McIver delivered a powerful opening statement.
UC-AFT members had two eventful days in Sacramento April 1st and 2nd. On April 1, UC-AFT was recognized on the Assembly Floor by Assemblymember Jose Medina. It was a great honor to be in the Capitol and have our work and contributions to UC recognized by the Legislature. Later that day, our delegation met with UC's Political Director to discuss UC's political work and process. The following day, nearly twenty UC-AFT members participated in our first Advocacy Day, visiting representatives from our home and UC districts.
