Contents:
(1) TX/RX: Make Sure You Vote on Your Contract & What's Next
(2 ) Holiday Closure of Campuses
(3) More Info on UC Plans to Cut Health and Retirement Benefits
(4) Nurses (CNA) and Clericals (CUE) Reach Tentative Agreement on Contracts

(1) TX/RX: Make Sure You Vote on Your Contract & What Next
The ballots for the TX/RX ratification will be counted this Wednesday, December 21. Make sure you vote! If you cannot make it to a polling location, call your local UPTE office to make arrangements to vote by absentee ballot.

All the information you need is accessible on our website including polling locations, a contract summary and the complete tentative agreement of the contract . There has been a lively debate about the salary options, as well as if bargaining at the same time as other unions can build sufficient unity in the absence of sympathy strike rights (especially given that nearly all other unions have given up sympathy strike rights now, see below).

The question before our members is not whether we got everything we want and deserve in a contract. The answer to that is always easy: “no.” The question is what action would you and your co-workers take to get UC to improve the tentative agreement.

If this tentative agreement passes, raises will be implemented with a retroactive check to 10/1/05 within 120 days of ratification. UPTE will also work to implement the equity, hazardous work, compensation, benefits, and parking committees with UC as soon as possible. We will immediately launch an informational campaign on UC's proposals to change our retirement and how we plan to challenge these takebacks.

If this tentative agreement does not pass, UPTE will send the bargaining team back to the table. If UPTE can muster enough member activism in a short time, we may be able to make some improvements on the agreement. The University is likely to attempt to impose their last offer very quickly. Raises and other working conditions would go into effect whenever the bargaining team finishes or the University prevails in its efforts to impose a contract.

Your vote counts, cast your ballot.

(2) Holiday Closure of Campuses
Many campuses and sometimes specific departments are closing for the holiday break and forcing employees to take vacation. Many of you will want to take a well-deserved break and spend some time with your family.

However, if you do not wish to take vacation you do have options. You can request an exception and be allowed to work. If your building is completely closed, you can request to work at another location. Depending on your job, you might be able to work at home. You can suggest to your supervisor that you work other days on a couple weekends to make up for the days you take off over the holiday. While we have no guarantees that these solutions will work, contact your union steward or call your campus union office if you want some assistance.

(3)  More Info on UC Plans to Cut Health and Retirement Benefits
The UC union coalition met with UC human resources representatives and their consultants last week. UC has begun to paint a very grim picture about the viability of the retirement fund and health benefits for retirees.

With the assumptions that UC is making, it predicts the retirement fund will dip below being 100% funded sometime in 2009. By the end of next year, UC will have to comply with new federal accounting standards (GASB 45) to account for how it will pay retiree health benefits. Soon thereafter, UC will likely issue staggering figures of its long-term liability in an effort to scare us and the regents into dramatically curtailing retiree health benefits.

UC has three main solutions to this alleged crisis:

1. Eliminate or reduce retiree health benefits
2. Require mandatory contributions based on a percentage of every employee's wages
3. Establish a 2-tier retirement plan that excludes new employees and perhaps even continuing employees (info from internal UC communication) from the current pension plan.

Working together with other unions, we must have our own financial consultants analyze UC's financial situation. We need to make proposals to protect our retirement while not at the same time forfeiting our pay raises and benefits now.

These attacks on retirement are part of UC's efforts to mimic much of the corporate world by making our jobs all short-term instead of career. Rather than retaining employees with attractive benefit and retirement plans, they will create cheaper (i.e. not as good for us) portable plans and dump employees as soon as they don't need them any more. Short-term employees do not provide Californians with the quality education, health care and public service that knowledgeable and dedicated career employees guarantee.

(4)  Nurses (CNA) and Clericals (CUE) Reach Tentative Agreement on Contracts
As UPTE members vote on the TX/RX contract, UC nurses and clericals also concluded their contracts and are holding ratification votes. Both the contracts have the same protection of retirement benefits until July 2007 with an obligation for the University to bargain any changes at that time. Assuming members of our three unions ratify these agreements, we will all be defending our benefits together at the same time.

The clerical union has agreed to three years of wage increases similar to UPTE but without the option for step increases. The nurses will bargain their wages next year. Both unions agreed to similar language as UPTE on “no strikes.”