WHY ARE THOUSANDS OF UC EMPLOYEES UNIONIZING WITH UAW?
The University of California is a world-class institution because of the hard work of over 200,000 dedicated employees. While many staff love the work we do, thousands of us still lack a collective voice and a seat at the bargaining table to be able to advance our jobs and the mission of the university. Every new union contract is an opportunity to further improve our jobs and address the wide-ranging issues faced by staff. For example, UC Student Services and Advising Professionals are currently negotiating a contract based on these initial bargaining demands. Read more below about common issues that UC staff joining UAW seek to improve such as:
Why should the remaining non-union UC employees have vastly different working conditions and power to address these issues? We don’t have to. Every unrepresented employee can be part of UAW and advance our rights and benefits together.
Fair Compensation
A recent report by the Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) showed that staff who are not in unions have come in last place for the total increase in income. Non-union staff have fallen 10-37% behind, as shown in the graph below
Non-unionized staff are last to be considered when it comes to State, System, and Campus budget priorities. Forming a union means gaining the power and rights to negotiate on equal terms with UC for guaranteed annual pay increases.
The data could not be clearer about how unionizing affects staff pay increases. But the goals of unionization go beyond that. Learn more about other issues that can be addressed below.
Research shows that unions have a powerful positive impact on workers’ lives. Unionized workers earn 10-20% more on average than their non-unionized counterparts. Unions help close inequitable wage gaps experienced by women, Black workers, and Hispanic workers. And unionized workers are more likely to have stronger job security, a safer work environment, and robust health care and pension benefits. My hardworking colleagues deserve all of these fundamental labor protections, and nothing less.
–Emily Jo Wharry, UCLA
JOB SECURITY
Whether you work in a contract or career position, forming a union means immediately gaining the ability to negotiate over layoffs and just cause protections for discipline and dismissal. This is especially important now, as threats from the federal government create uncertainty and non-union employees lack a seat at the bargaining table.
By unionizing, UAW members have won conversion of positions from contract to career, strong protections against unjust termination, and layoff protections such as increased notice and preferential rehire.
PATHWAYS FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Without a union, promotion and reclassification processes are often opaque and inequitable, leading to unnecessarily high turnover among staff at UC. It is not uncommon for non-union staff to be denied promotions after years of performing work above their pay grade on the promise that it will be rewarded eventually. Meanwhile, contracts won by UAW-represented employees ensure that pay increases with experience and additional responsibility always means additional compensation. Additionally, unionized workers have won increased support for training and professional development. Investing in our skills and advancement benefits both employees and the institution.
Excessive working hours and overwork issues are widespread among UC employees. Without workload protections, we may find ourselves routinely working excessive hours without additional compensation.
Just like our unionized colleagues at UC, all staff need the ability to set firm boundaries regarding the scope of our jobs and clear expectations that our availability is not at the full control of our managers.
PROTECTIONS FROM OVERWORK (WORK-LIFE BALANCE)
I’ve been lucky enough to have had great supervisors over my decade long experience as a Research Administrator. However, I realized that this experience is unique and not everyone at the UC level can advance in their career, be compensated fairly and be protected from overwork equally. I often see colleagues working late into the night or on weekends because teams are understaffed due to a high turnover and stressful environments where adequate training is not always provided. I want to be part of a union so that everyone can feel supported, treated fairly and have a work life balance guaranteed.
–Brenda Perez Martinez, UCSF
LEAVE AND PAID TIME OFF
Paid Time Off and Paid Leave benefits for non-union employees lag far behind unionized colleagues doing similar work. Many of us have to spend the minimal vacation days we do have during curtailment in order to not lose money at the end of the year. Non-union staff have far less vacation than the 24 days of PTO guaranteed annually in UAW contracts.
In 2022, workers in UAW expanded the paid family leave benefits which UC applied to all staff. Right now, another group of workers in UAW are negotiating to improve these benefits even further, and by unionizing, other employees have the opportunity to join them in that effort.
Without healthcare benefits guaranteed in a contract, UC employees are often alarmed at the annual increases in premiums that often offset any wage increases we may or may not receive. But those of us without a contract can join UAW to follow in the footsteps of our colleagues who won:
Caps on premium increases
Reimbursements to help offset rising premiums
Improved coverage for employees and dependents
For example,this plan that Postdocs won after unionizing with UAW is a significant achievement that others can build upon.
HEALTHCARE BENEFITS
RETIREMENT BENEFITS
The age of retirement for UC employees varies dramatically based on their ability to bargain collectively for improved benefits. Through collective bargaining, unionized workers at UC have greatly expanded access to the pension. Right now, thousands more UAW-represented employees are negotiating for a contract that allows them to retire earlier with greater financial security.
ACCESS TO REMOTE AND HYBRID WORK ARRANGEMENTS
There is an ongoing effort on many UC campuses to curtail or end remote work despite overwhelming staff opposition and ample data demonstrating the effectiveness of our teleworkforce. Many of us who have a hybrid or remote arrangement feel a strong need to guarantee a fair process for securing these arrangements. The high cost of living near UC campuses has led many staff to live far from our places of work, and without the ability to negotiate over hybrid and remote work, we could be forced out of our jobs as a result of return to office mandates.
Student Services and Advising Professionals who recently unionized with UAW were able to get UC to rescind their return to office mandates during collective bargaining. These colleagues are currently negotiating for improved processes for accessing and maintaining remote and hybrid work, and more staff can do the same by unionizing.
PROTECTIONS FROM DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT, AND BULLYING
All workers at UC deserve a respectful work environment. UAW members at UC have won enforceable protections against discrimination, harassment, and all forms of abusive conduct to ensure survivors’ careers are not jeopardized by reporting abusive behavior. Once protections are negotiated into the union contract, workers have real recourse to stop abusives of power through the union grievance process. For example, when Sandra Koch was discriminated against as a pregnant Postdoc at UCLA, she filed a union grievance and rallied the support of her coworkers. UCLA reinstated her and her career is back on target; by the time Title IX would have investigated her situation, she would have lost her visa status and had to return to her home country. Read about Sandra’s experience in her own words. All UC employees can gain greater power to prevent discrimination and harassment by forming a union.
I am currently working as a Research Analyst and Project Manager at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science, a position I've held for 5 years. I have faced egregious discrimination from my former management team, and it took over a year for me to be reassigned to a new supervisor. A grievance procedure codified in a union contract could have ensured that a) the discrimination not be tolerated and b) I be reassigned far sooner. I have also been dealing with a misclassification and unpaid wage issue for nearly 2 years now, in which I am not paid fairly for the work I provide.
A union contract would not only offer the grievance procedure to ensure I will be promptly classified correctly, it would also provide clear compensation guidelines and support me in getting the correct information in a timely manner. I look forward to having a union where there is a sense of support among colleagues, especially given how isolating workplace harm can feel.–Aujanèe Young, UC Berkeley
The more workers who unionize at UC, the more power we all have to continue making progress in all our workplaces. Joining with colleagues in UAW is not merely a step towards improving our individual lives, it’s a stride towards elevating the entire University of California system to meet and set higher standards of employee wellbeing and institutional excellence.
In my 7 years at UCSF, I’ve been lucky to have a team that advocates for me. But I’ve met many people who don’t, and who feel frustrated and undervalued. Right now, we don’t have the leverage we need to change that. I’m working to form a union because I know that when we band together to fight for everyone, things get better for all of us.”.
–Rebecca Griffin, UCSF
What issues do you want to address?
If you are facing any workplace issues, schedule a meeting with a member of the organizing committee to talk about it. Add your voice to the conversation!