Local 2034 - San Diego
-Summary and Text of the Librarians' Tentative Agreement (Unit 17)
-Lecturers' New Salary Chart is now available (Unit 18)
-Major Gains in MOU for Lecturers.
WHO WE ARE
UC-AFT is the union that represents lecturers, librarians, and out-of-unit academic members at the University of California. Since 1983, we have been responsible for negotiating and administering the statewide collective bargaining agreements, also called Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), that govern the basic terms and conditions of employment for all UC lecturers (Unit 18) and UC librarians (Unit 17). Lecturers and librarians are currently the only UC academics who possess collective bargaining rights systemwide, but any UC academic employee, Senate or non-Senate, may join the union.
WHAT WE DO
Before UC-AFT negotiated its first contracts with UC, the working conditions and salaries for non-Senate faculty and librarians were completely arbitrary, subject only to the whim of the university administration. For example, after 8 years of teaching at any UC campus, lecturers were automatically terminated, no matter how excellent their performance or how badly their skills were needed. UC-AFT put an end to this system, winning for lecturers with a record of 6 years of excellent teaching the right to more stable employment: initially (in the 1986 MOU), to 3-year contracts with an expectation of renewal, and recently (in the 2003 MOU), to continuing, career appointments.
The new MOU for Unit 18 lecturers also provides some new protections for lecturers before their sixth year. Moreover, since the new Unit 18 MOU provides for third-party arbitration for the most important provisions, it is far more enforceable than previous agreements. We have also won significant gains for lecturers and librarians in the areas of salary, benefits, professional development support, academic freedom, and due process rights.
The work of non-Senate faculty and librarians is at the core of both the teaching and research missions of UC. We believe fulfilling these missions requires professional working conditions. In future negotiations, your bargaining representatives will therefore continue to advocate for higher salaries, including parity with Senate faculty, better benefits, improved job security, regular merit reviews/increases, career equity, realistic workloads, and increased professional recognition and support. Thanks to the increased funding provided by the California “Fair Share” law in the last few years, we now also have union staff on all the campuses. Their job is to assist the locals in building the organization, and to protect the people we represent.
WHY AND HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER
All Unit 18 lecturers and Unit 17 librarians are covered by UC-AFT contracts, and have the legal right to UC-AFT representation, whether or not they are union members. To cover the costs of representation all members of those units are therefore required by state law to pay UC-AFT agency dues or fees, again regardless of membership status. This is called “fair share”, and it consists of a small percentage of your salary, deducted automatically from your pay check each month. Its use is carefully regulated by state law.
But the University’s withholding of “Agency fees” does not automatically make you a member of UC-AFT. The decision to join the union is voluntary and requires that you fill out and submit a membership form. If you are a union member, your dues will be recorded on your pay statement as “UC-AFT Dues”; if you are not a union member, the deduction will be recorded as “Agency Fee.” The amount withheld is the same for union members and nonmembers, though non-members may request a small refund annually, as required by state law.
There are two important advantages to joining the union.
- By becoming a member, you increase the union’s leverage, since membership numbers are read by the employer as support for the Union’s work—on campus and at the bargaining table.
- While anyone who is eligible to join may attend most local union meetings and contribute to discussions, only union members may vote. Thus, only union members have a real voice in deciding the direction of the organization, determining its leadership, establishing its bargaining positions, and voting on contracts. We therefore urge you to consider joining UC-AFT now by completing a membership form.