UC-AFT Insider February 2021

There’s lots of important information in the Insider below, but first I want to give a quick pitch for the UC-AFT Member Hardship Fund. Since August 2020, the Fund has provided one-time grants of $500 to fourteen (14) UC-AFT members in need. If you are in a position to give, please contribute to our Member Hardship Fund. If you are experiencing acute financial hardship, please apply for a grant.
 

UC-AFT Insider

February 12, 2021

• Bargaining Update: January Sessions and Feb 1 Virtual Rally
• Constitutional Convention: Proposed Amended UC-AFT Constitution
• Librarian Victory: UCB Furlough and Reduction in Time Plan Suspended
• Lecturer Victory: Progress in 1% Pay Increase Settlement Talks
• UC-AFT Survey: UCPath Payroll Errors and New Accountability Law for UC

Bargaining Update: January Sessions and Feb 1 Virtual Rally
Over 320 Teaching Faculty members came to either a bargaining session in January or our Feb 1 rally. That’s 14% of our membership, which is unprecedented in the history of UC-AFT. Our members were joined by well over 100 Senate faculty, student, community and labor allies. On January 21, our big bargaining turnout day, we had 300 people in the zoom room at one time. Our campaign for job stability, manageable workloads and livable compensation has sustained and growing support. Please get up to date, get involved and remember,...solidarity defeats precarity!

Watch the video from our Feb 1 virtual rally and press conference to see compelling member testimonials about job and economic insecurity, read the most recent bargaining update for details on progress at the table (including our Compensation proposal), and RSVP below to attend a bargaining session in February.

February Bargaining Dates:

RSVP to receive the bargaining zoom link: bit.ly/ucaftbargaining

Friday, February 12, 2 - 3PM (Today!...and shortened from 2-5.)

Friday, February 26, 2- 5PM

Constitutional Convention: Proposed Amended UC-AFT Constitution

Over three Saturdays in December and January, UC-AFT held a Constitutional Convention with members from every Local. The Convention resulted in a proposed amended Constitution, which was subsequently adopted by the Council on January 16. In order for the amended constitution to take effect, two-thirds of our UC-AFT Locals need to vote to approve it prior to our next Council meeting on April 17. Please keep an eye out for local announcements about these votes and related meetings.

Librarian Victory: UCB Furlough and Reduction in Time Plan Suspended!
Our Librarian Contract Administration Group (CAG) met with Berkeley Labor Relations staff and UCOP managers twice in January to gather information and to resist implementation of a reduction in time plan for our members. Three days after our second meeting, UCB announced that their austerity plan would be suspended until at least July 1. The UC Union Coalition at Berkeley worked together to force the University to consider other ways out of this budget shortfall. We did our part! Thanks to CAG members, I-Wei Wang, Kristen LaBonte and Mitchell Brown and Kendra K. Levine (UCB Librarian) for their quick and effective work in defense of Unit 17!

Lecturer Victory: Progress in 1% Pay Increase Settlement Talks
In October 2020, an arbitrator ruled that the 2019-2020 salary increases given to ladder rank faculty were general range adjustments and, therefore, should have been applied to Unit 18 faculty under the “me too” language in our contract. UC-AFT has been meeting with UC management since then to reach an understanding of how to implement this award. On February 9, UC-AFT met again with UC management to propose a plan that includes back pay in the form of a lump sum to all Unit 18 faculty employed since July 1, 2019, and, for those still on payroll, adding 1% to our salaries going forward. The next step is to agree on the list of affected individuals and on details like calculation of interest. We are hopeful that we’ll be able to reach a final agreement soon. Time to pay up, UC!

UC-AFT Survey: UCPath Payroll Errors and New Accountability Law for UC
UCPath has been plagued with delays and errors since its roll out began with UCOP employees in 2015. Many of our members have experienced payroll errors including late payment, underpayment, overpayment, etc. Resolving these problems can be difficult, stressful and expensive. In January 2020, SB 698 (Leyva) became law and updated Section 204 of the labor code to mandate timely and complete pay for workers employed by the University of California. Workers may now file complaints to hold the University accountable, and the University will owe penalties for any late or incomplete payments. We are now considering late excellence and merit reviews as a form of late wages. If you’ve experienced payroll errors, please complete this survey. We won’t take any action on your behalf without your consent. We may be able to assist you through the claims process outlined at UAW2865.org.