On Jan. 30 UC again improved its wage offer for UC service workers, and again AFSCME leaders refused to accept it. We believe AFSCME leaders should let service employees vote on our offer, rather than ask them to support another financially damaging strike. So far, AFSCME strikes have cost the UC system approximately $30 million.
We call on AFSCME leaders to present our offer to union members.
UC's Proposal for Service Employees
| Wages | UC has increased its wage offer to 15% over four years, an average of 3.75% per year. Employees at the top the pay scale will receive lump sum offsets if the wage package includes step increases. This is similar to CUE and UPTE campus-based employees. | ||||||||||||
| Health Benefits |
At AFSCME's request and to help lower paid employees, UC will not increase premiums in Kaiser and Health Net for pay bands 1 and 2 for the duration of the contract. If AFSCME agrees, this is what 95% of service unit members would pay for the length of the contract:
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| Contracting Out | UC has agreed to explore ways to further mitigate the impact of contracting out on service unit employees in addition to current job protections. | ||||||||||||
| Pension Benefits | UC has agreed to AFSCME's request for the same pension benefit formula as CNA and UPTE. Under the pension proposal, all employees are eligible to retire using the age factor 1.1% at age 50 and 2.5% at age 60. The cost is 9 percent of pay, the same cost other bargaining units will pay for the same benefits. | ||||||||||||
| Retiree Health Care | UC has agreed to AFSCME's request for the same retiree healthcare eligibility rules as CNA and UPTE, including grandfathering current employees for retiree health eligibility AND UC has frozen the Kaiser rate for the life and duration of the agreement. | ||||||||||||
| Seniority | UC has agreed to fill open shifts by ensuring the most senior qualified employee who applies will get the position. | ||||||||||||
| Layoffs | UC has improved protections in the agreement to ensure alternatives to layoffs are explored, including eliminating temporary workers first. | ||||||||||||
| Paid Time Off |
UC has agreed to AFSCME's request to use sick leave and vacation policies and cancel paid time off programs at the medical centers for service union workers. |
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The university is providing this update because we think it is important to let people know what it has offered AFSCME service employees during negotiations.
UC is committed to providing equitable compensation for all employees based on their required skill sets and responsibilities.
From UC's perspective, AFSCME is still demanding far more for its members compared to what other employees have received and agreed to. This would amount to special treatment for AFSCME-represented employees that would create a disparity between service employees and other employee groups. UC simply cannot justify this and still maintain fairness.
We are working hard to finalize a good contract for our employees and to bring an end to this labor dispute, which has gone on far too long. We encourage AFSCME to join us in moving forward.