Bargaining Update: UC Wants to Roll Back Our Benefits and Rights

The UAW Local 2865 bargaining team met Monday, April 16 with university representatives to discuss changes the university would like to make to our contract.

Unfortunately, the bargaining team was alarmed by the uncooperative, antiunion tactics of the university. The university is proposing to cut a number of critical benefits and roll back several groundbreaking union victories. Not only would these cuts and rollbacks have a negative financial impact on all our members, they would also undermine the ability of UC to continue to be competitive, encourage diversity, and attract the best and brightest.

FEE REMISSIONS

At the same time that we are proposing to expand the types of fees covered and who is eligible to receive remissions, the university is proposing to end full fee remissions for graduate-student employees, proposing instead to cap remissions. What this would mean is that whenever fees increase—which is the unfortunate trend—we would end up paying that increase out-of-pocket.

HEALTH INSURANCE

Additionally, under the current contract, many of us have our health insurance premium fully covered. Again, while we are proposing to expand the types of fees covered and who is eligible to receive remissions, the university is proposing to cap our health insurance premium remissions at a fixed dollar amount, thus transferring the rising cost of health care onto us. Given that the health plans at many campuses are already inadequate and steadily deteriorating, this proposal is unacceptable.

The university also made several proposals which would prevent teaching assistants, readers, and tutors from being informed of their rights, and which would limit our rights to express solidarity with workers in other campus unions.

The university is proposing to take us in the wrong direction. This is unacceptable. As bargaining continues, we will keep you informed of developments at the bargaining table and opportunities to participate in winning a great fourth contract. If you have questions or would like to get more involved, please reply to this message or contact your campus office. http://www.uaw2865.org/contact.html

In solidarity,

UAW Local 2865 Bargaining Committee

Tarone Bittner, Davis Unit Chair
Toi Carter, Riverside Recording Secretary
Meaghan Chadwick, Merced Unit Chair
Cassandra Engeman, Santa Barbara Recording Secretary
Michelle Gallagher, Los Angeles Unit Chair
Tim Gutierrez, Davis Recording Secretary
Adam Hefty, Santa Cruz Recording Secretary
Samantha Iyer, Berkeley Recording Secretary
Jamie Keeton, Los Angeles Recording Secretary
Daraka Larimore-Hall, Santa Barbara Unit Chair
Christine Petit, Riverside Unit Chair
Dan Roth, Berkeley Unit Chair
David Selby, San Diego Unit Chair
Sara Smith, Santa Cruz Unit Chair
Coral Wheeler, Irvine Recording Secretary
Kelly Wurtz, San Diego Recording Secretary

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UAW Local 2865 - Santa Cruz
310 Locust St., Suite B/Mailbox 2
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
phone: (831) 423-9737 / fax: (831) 423-3606
santacruz [at] uaw2865.org / http://www.uaw2865.org

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UAW Local 2865 is the union representing over 12,000 Academic Student Employees - Tutors, Readers, and Teaching Assistants - at the nine teaching campuses of the University of California.

As for all employees, wages, benefits, workload, grievance procedures, and fair hiring processes are important issues of concern for graduate and undergraduate students working at the University of California. Through the Union, we have the right to bargain with the UC over our working conditions and to have a say in the policies that affect us.

The Union works through the participation of its members. Contact your local campus office to find out how you can get involved in building our Union.