- Resources
- Employment policies, contracts and updates
-
How are contracts negotiated?
How are contracts negotiated?
As UC negotiates contracts with the labor unions that represent you, our commitment remains clear: ensuring you receive competitive compensation that reflects your vital contributions to UC’s missions of public service, research, and education. You are essential to our success, and we are determined to support you.
When it’s time to negotiate, representatives from the university and the union (‘bargaining teams’) meet to discuss contract-related issues and present proposals and counterproposals. State law requires that both sides engage in good-faith negotiations to try to resolve any differences and work to reach an agreement in a timely manner.
Negotiating a contract can be a long and complicated process, so we share regular bargaining updates along the way to keep you informed.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to the process:
-
Start bargaining.
Bargaining begins when teams from both parties schedule a series of meetings to negotiate the contract.
-
Present proposals.
Both sides present proposals about a contract topic, such as wages.
-
Review and counter.
Each side reviews the proposals and, in most cases, presents counterproposals.
-
If the sides are getting closer, they make tentative agreements.
The teams work together to reach tentative agreements on each article (as many as 50 per contract).
-
If they’re not, they declare an impasse.
If the teams cannot reach an agreement, they may declare an impasse, which means that they cannot reach an agreement or resolve their disputes through further bargaining.
-
Start mediation.
Once an impasse is declared, the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) assigns a mediator, and mediation is held.
-
If mediation doesn’t work, proceed to fact-finding.
If mediation is not productive, it can be canceled by PERB, and the process proceeds to fact-finding. Fact-finding requires a representative from each party, plus a neutral third party, who reviews progress made and determines if a settlement can be reached.
-
If there’s still no agreement, parties consider next steps.
If, after fact-finding, an agreement still has not been reached, the parties can exercise their rights under the law. These rights include striking by the union or the implementation of certain contract terms by the employer.
This does not mark the end of the duty to bargain; the employer must continue to bargain in good faith if the union requests further negotiations.