UC offers new economic proposal for Professional Librarians
The University met with the UC-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) on February 8, 2024, to propose wage increases as part of the bargaining process for professional librarians. This offer recognizes the expertise you bring to UC libraries, providing access to knowledge and discovery. Details of the proposal include:
- Robust salary increases: UC’s offer provides, in addition to the existing merit program, annual salary increases for all ranks totaling 15.5% over the life of a six-year contract, as follows:
- 2024: 3.5% increase
- 2025: 3.0% increase
- 2026: 2.5% increase
- 2027: 2.5% increase
- 2028: 2.0% increase
- 2029: 2.0% increase
- Competitive pay: Before implementing the above-proposed salary increases and increases to the minimum starting rates at each rank, UC average salaries are highly competitive compared to data from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), using UC data from November 1, 2022, and ARL data from July 1, 2021. The data demonstrates that UC average salaries are approximately 15% higher at the associate rank and 36% higher at the full librarian rank.
In addition to the increases proposed above, professional librarians progress through the merit and promotion review process every 2 or 3 years, depending on rank. A successful review normally results in a 5.4% pay increase over two years and an 8.1% increase over three years. These increases are on top of the general range adjustment.
- Removal of the bottom salary points: We are proposing the removal of the bottom two salary points at each rank to offer higher starting salaries to new hires so that we can continue to recruit and retain talented librarians who make impactful contributions to the University. This proposal represents an increase of 5.47% to the starting salary rate at each rank.
- Long-term stability: Multi-year contracts provide stability for you and the university.
The University is dedicated to making fair proposals reflective of the critical services both units provide. Our proposals are not designed to be a “starting point” but rather reasonable offers that represent our valued employees. Both parties have passed a number of proposals across the table and have reached tentative agreements on two. Our next bargaining session is planned for February 22.
We’ll provide up-to-date information so that you understand what we are doing and why. Thank you for your valuable contributions towards achieving the University’s education and research objectives, benefiting our students and faculty.