The University of California has approved a proposed settlement with the Coalition of University Employees that would include raising wages of UC clerical workers by 2.5 percent. The union will decide this month whether to accept or reject the proposed agreement.
C.U.E., which represents over 18,000 clerical workers from the nine UC campuses, had originally asked for a 15 percent increase in wages.
The union will be asking its members to vote this month on whether or not to accept this proposal; if accepted, the new contract will take effect immediately and end in September 2004. If C.U.E. members decide not to accept it, however, both parties will resume bargaining and will have to decide whether or not to declare an impasse.
“”The truth is the proposal hasn’t changed one penny from the original proposal two years ago, so we expect our members to take a pretty harsh look at it,”” said statewide president of C.U.E. Claudia Horning. “”It only amounts to average about $1.30 a day per employee, with which they can get maybe a cup of coffee.””
The University of California, which has not yet made details of the proposal public, will give C.U.E. until April 30 to come to a decision.
“”We want to give the union and UC employees plenty of time to discuss the proposal amongst themselves,”” said UC spokesman Paul Schwartz.
According to Sally Hampton, president of C.U.E.’s San Diego chapter and book restorer at Geisel Library, accepting this contract will not signify the end of conflicts between the University and C.U.E.
“”If people vote to accept this contract, we’ll just go to work on the next one,”” Hampton said. “”But my hope is they won’t, that we’ll go to fact-finding and that the university will have to admit to the fact that they have $4.5 billion in reserves. And they’ll have to share.””
The University of California Office of the President has claimed that the union’s denouncement of over $4 billion in unrestricted excess reserves is misleading, stating that, “”‘unrestricted’ does not mean the funds are uncommitted or available for any use,”” and that, “”there are no ‘surplus’ funds sitting in ‘rainy day’ reserves available for salary increases.””
The union recently released an analysis of UC funds conducted by a former UC economics professor, concluding that the university is capable of offering its clerical workers a better contract and that its 2001-02 financial report shows that the University of California “”lacks not the ability but the will”” to do so.
While C.U.E. chapters are not taking official stances for or against accepting their proposal, but instead holding workshops to prepare members for the vote, C.U.E. leaders have already begun to speak out on their positions.
“”It amounts to a pay cut if we accept this,”” said Rita Skinner, C.U.E. Riverside representative to the executive board.
In San Diego, Hampton said that she will be encouraging union members to vote against the proposal.
Local presidents at Berkeley and Los Angeles likewise publicly expressed discontent with the proposal after the university’s April 1 announcement.
Others, however, felt that it should be accepted at this time.
“”I really don’t think we’re emotionally or financially ready for a strike,”” said C.U.E. Santa Cruz Chapter Chair Lisa Gustafson.
Relations between the university and the union have been strained over past months. There have been claims of “”bad faith”” bargaining being made by C.U.E. and declarations of impasse by the university, despite being denied by the Public Employee Relations Board, union-led protests on UC campuses and finally state-mediated negotiations between the two parties.
The San Diego C.U.E. chapter had joined forces with other local unions on Feb. 27 to march in protest down Library Walk.
According to Hampton, C.U.E. membership has been growing in San Diego.
“”What the university doesn’t seem to realize is that every month since this has been going on, we’ve been gaining in membership,”” Hampton said. “”Our coalition has just now started working together this year and becoming stronger.””
The union, which currently represents over 18,000 UC clerical employees, has been urging new members to join in time for the vote.
According to Hampton, the over 12 percent difference in the wage increase asked for by C.U.E. and the one agreed on by the university came as no surprise.
“”[UC] President [Richard C.] Atkinson needs to start taking under consideration that he has single parents working here for $28,000 a year. They are eligible for federal housing assistance. Some of them are even eligible for food stamps,”” Hampton said.
If C.U.E. members decide not to approve the contract, Horning said that she believes that UC officials would likely declare an impasse, and that the next few months would be spent in fact-finding, with possible outcomes including the university offering the union their last best option or C.U.E. going into strikes.
