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UC-AFT Insider November 2019

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University Council-AFT Insider
November 7, 2019

 

In this issue:

  • Bargaining Issue Breakdown: Workload….Our Vision and Core Demands
  • UCB Academic Senate Issues Statement of Support for UC-AFT Faculty Bargaining!
  • AFSCME Strike Scheduled for November 13…UC-AFT Organizing Picket Support
  • Our Union on the Move: Recent Important Work You Should Know About
  • In Memoriam: Gayatri Singh, Beloved Librarian and UC-AFT Sister

Bargaining Issue Breakdown: Workload….Our Vision and Core Demands
Our core demands for Article 24 Instructional Workload include fully paid work, consistent and fair UC-wide workload standards, and course loads that support effective teaching. UC insists on minimizing the scope of work involved in excellent instruction. In these negotiations, we are striving to redefine workload to include the service and professional development work we do to provide the best possible learning experience for our students. Download, print and post this Workload flyer…this is what we are fighting for! Please also read the bargaining update from Session #8, October 17-78 in Santa Cruz.

UCB Academic Senate Issues Statement of Support for UC-AFT Faculty Bargaining!
The Academic Senate at UCB released this statement on November 4 in support of our efforts in bargaining. This builds on earlier support from the Berkeley Faculty Association, which released a statement entitled, Who Do UC Negotiators Represent? after observing our bargaining session at UCB. Hank Reichman’s brand new post on AAUP’s Academe Blog documents this growing support for faculty equity and calls for additional solidarity from Senate members at Berkeley and beyond.

AFSCME Strike November 13…UC-AFT Organizing Picket Support…Your Rights and Responsibilities
On Wednesday, November 13, 24,000 service and patient care workers of AFSCME 3299 will conduct a one-day unfair labor practice strike in response to the university’s continuing violation of outsourcing restrictions in the AFSCME contract. AFSCME's struggle with UC over this issue is deeply connected to our struggles with UC regarding their abuse of contingent faculty and temporary librarian appointments. Similarly, UC's refusal to implement existing agreements with AFSCME around the use of private, temporary and under-compensated labor, harkens very nearly to our current fight with UC over implementation of our July 1, 2019 pay raise per the "me too" language in the Unit 18 MOU. This post will inform you of your rights and responsibilities on Nov 13. The specific circumstances in our separate fights are slightly different, but the underlying motivation, intention and impacts of UC's actions are the same. Our best hope at resisting and changing UC's bad practices is to fight together when we can. On November 13,...we can fight together. Statewide picket line information.

Our Union on the Move: Recent Important Work You Should Know About
Ready. Set. Go. On October 8, we received word of total victory for Andrew Tonkovich in the fight to get post-operative paid medical leave. This win is already positively impacting paid leave decisions for other members. On October 23, the UC Union Coalition sent this letter, signed by UC-AFT VP for Legislation, John Rundin, to the Regents to oppose an increase to employee pension contributions, which is on the Nov. 13 Regents agenda. On October 26, UC-AFT held our second annual Leadership Conference at UCI where we worked around the theme Becoming Assertive Leaders. And, On October 31, UC-AFT members at UCLA attended a WASC Accreditation hearing where Mia McIver gave this statement calling into question UCLA compliance with accreditation policy around instruction. On to November!

In Memoriam: Gayatri Singh: Beloved Librarian and UC-AFT Sister
We mourn the untimely passing of our friend and colleague, Gayatri Singh. She had a brilliant, beautiful smile, and her warm, steady presence was a sustaining force in our San Diego Local. Gayatri held temporary librarian appointments at UCI and UCR before coming to UCSD in 2007, where she most recently served as the Reference and Information Services Coordinator and Librarian for Communication. She provided key support to our Unit 17 bargaining team during contract negotiations, and she was an active leader within our San Diego Local. She was also an activist who spoke out on behalf of others. She loved ABBA and puppies, and she loved her colleagues, to whom she was an amazing support in so many ways. Gayatri was much loved by her UC-AFT family at UCSD and beyond. She is and will be greatly missed.

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The University Council – American Federation of Teachers is an affiliate of the California Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO.