UC continued negotiations Feb. 4-6 in San Diego with the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) union for a new contract covering UC's more than 8.600 research and technical employees. Much to the University's disappointment, not much progress was made.
Summary of this week's bargaining session:
Monday, Feb. 4
- Bargaining was scheduled to start at 10:00am, but UPTE representatives said they wouldn’t be ready until the afternoon.
- At 1:00pm, UC presented UPTE with three proposals regarding employment non-discrimination, medical separations and reasonable accommodation.
- When the teams reconvened at 3:30pm, UPTE had no proposals or responses of its own to present.
Tuesday, Feb. 5
- Bargaining began with a discussion of UC's post-employment benefits, followed by a formal proposal from UC to UPTE seeking the union's agreement to have UPTE-represented employees participate in UC's post-employment benefits program, which other unions have agreed to and non-represented employees are subject to. Highlights of the program include:
- A new category("tier") of pension benefits for UC employees hired on or after July 1, 2013;
- An increase in UCRP contributions for both UC (from 10% to 12%) and employees (from 5 to 6.5%), effective July 1, 2013;
- New retiree health eligibility rules
- After the lunch break, UPTE informed UC that the union would be unprepared to meet again until the following morning.
Wednesday, Feb. 6
- Bargaining was scheduled to start in the morning but again was delayed by UPTE until 12:15pm.
- When the teams met in the afternoon, UC listened to concerns from several UPTE members on local issues such as parking and shuttle service and infrastructure safety.
- Toward the end of the day, UPTE presented UC with one proposal regarding staff holidays for each of the RX and TX units.
The next bargaining session is scheduled for Feb. 21-22 and UC will continue its efforts to reach a fair contract with UPTE.