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NOTES FROM THE BARGAINING BUBBLE #13
by Bert Thomas, UCLA Representative, CUE BARGAINING TEAM
(A personal diary, not the Official Report)
BERKELEY LAB 3/21 & UCOP 3/22-24, 2005
NO STRIKE, NO CHANGE
We've been at this almost a year now, right? In a couple of months it'll be a year. The University swears up and down in its press releases that:
"The proper forum for resolving labor disputes is at the bargaining table and via the negotiation process."
So far, so good. And then they say:
"The University takes seriously its bargaining obligations, which include the duty to bargain in good faith and work earnestly to settle differences and to utilize the entire collective bargaining process, including mediation, fact-finding and good faith consideration of the findings and recommendations contained in the fact-finders report, to explore all possibilities for agreement."
My goodness, girls and boys, that big long sentence contains at least 6 lies, separated by commas. Virtually 'presidential' in its sweep and grandeur. Who writes this stuff? A genius in the Office of the President. Somebody too smart to sign his name or leave fingerprints. In my crew, we'd say he's somebody who talks out of his neck. Somebody who ain't all growed up yet, y'know? Courage...Integrity...these things scare a fella like this to death. You scare him, won't you? Show him yours at the AFSCME strike on the 14th. The thing's caught fire all up and down the state.
THE LAB, THE LAB, THE WONDERFUL LAB
CUE-balls at the National Lab on the Berkeley hillside are the Bomb. They're paid a little better than the rest of us (owing to the Federal funding standards they enjoy), and they insist on bargaining locally because of the different Federal job classifications and such, but they rejected AGAIN the University's "last, best, final" offer which emerged from our meeting there on March 21st. Try to appreciate the courage that takes.
Bill Elkins is the University's point-man at this location, and he's kept on a pretty short leash, near as we can tell, by what he calls "senior management". "Who is this 'senior management'?" we asked. "Should we be talking to them?" Bill refused to say their names. (Dude, it's a matter of public record, fergodsakes!) Scared guy. CUE Chief Negotiator, Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, and Local President Paijoun Montanna-Bronte took no prisoners. Amatullah pointed out that out of 190 represented clerical workers at the Lab, 120 were AAIII's. "Where do these people go when they're topped out? Wouldn't adoption of the AAIV model work well for you here?" Mr. Bill said they could be re-classified as "Administrators" (a Lab classification, unrepresented) and "there's no room in our philosophy for AAIV." EXCUSE ME? No room in the University's "philosophy"? Do these folks hear themselves talking? Or is it that "top of the head/outta their neck" thing? No doubt this was supposed to strike us as a "scholarly", unassailable remark. I would call it a UC administrator's "cry for help."
CUE made 5, count 'em, 5 counter-proposals to the Lab's wage offer in this one day, and although the union's "movement" was complimented by Mr. Elkins, the University did not move an inch. So much for "good faith bargaining" and the "earnest" exploration of ways to settle differences. We left them with information requests for detailed accounting of the cost of generating separate checks for merit or performance awards to avoid the tax bite on employee paychecks ("senior management would rather not")--and also what criteria were used to select the institutions against which UC's payrates were measured for "competitiveness" (since competing universities and public institutions of similar size and prominence appeared to be absent from the comparisons).
While riding off the hill, I happened to inquire about a big, rusty roundish building with a load of employee cars parked around it. I was told this was a decommissioned nuclear facility that had been rotting forlornly for about 15 years, too radioactive to dismantle. My, what a fine place to park your car all day. Wonder if anybody's strolled around that thing with a Geiger counter recently. I suppose if it were really dangerous the University of California would have issued some warning to employees. Ya think? Yeah, me too...
ON TO OAKLAND...Office of the President, THE NEXT DAY
Again, the stupid meeting room in the garage. God, what a wonderful venue...perfect spot for a mob "hit" like in the movies. And 3 days of it.
I was pretty sick the whole time...sat on the fringe, in the old-peoples' chair, to minimize the risk of infecting others. My beloved CUE team-mates descended on me with a slew of medicaments, home remedies, nasal fixitives, homeopathics, and evil-tasting tea (Amatullah!) to ease my pitiful state. I took it all and still felt like Death-on-a-Bicycle. Nothing, alas, could break the UCOP spell. Certainly not UC Negotiator, Peter Chester, whose boyish countenance lit up like a kid with a new toy when he managed to move the table discussion away from what he calls "economic issues"...by presenting University proposals on 9 non-economic contract articles.
"BUT FIRST, WE DANCE!"
The CUE team's "check-in" is often the best part of the bargaining session for me, coming as it does, right at the beginning. Typically, the University team really doesn't know how to do it...expressing some lame, meaningless yadda-yadda about how they hope it'll be "productive" and such. As if we weren't ALL hopeful of that. CUE's Melinda Gandara of UC Santa Barbara began by saying that she has been targeted for layoff at her campus. A brilliant, eloquent worker, student, and Member of our Bargaining Team...for whom the University has no further use. Imagine that.
Nancy Kabzenell of UC San Diego (25 years of service) said: "The University doesn't stand for anything good anymore." When it rolled around to me in the sick-chair, I emerged from my wretchedness long enough to deplore the corporate University's refusal to respond "earnestly" to the Fact Finder's Report of last month; and I read a letter sent in by a former clerical worker at UCLA, Susan Hale, who declared, among other things, that she would "never, ever give money to UCLA or encourage anyone else to do so." Her letter went on to speak of her bosses driving by to show off their brand new Lexus while her co-worker "who actually does all the work has to go to the food bank to make ends meet on her clerical wages." And I'm pretty sure I mentioned my own layoff, effective May 2...just wondering aloud how Peter Chester could have known of it (he admitted this) before I'd had a chance to officially notify most of my own jurisdiction.
"You think I had something to do with it?" he asked. "Yes sir, I do," I replied. And he was silent. Silence is so...accurate.
When it was Peter's turn, he said he thought we weren't "interest-based" enough. Yep...that's what he said. Just takes your breath away, doesn't it? Dr. Samuel Johnson is supposed to have commented as a young man on the approach of an acquaintance: "My boys, let us be grave. Here comes a fool." CUE's Norine Shima of UC Berkeley spoke directly to Peter: "I'm not so confident you really want this to work."
NINE NON-ECONOMIC TAKE-AWAYS
There was lunch and we re-convened briefly before Mr. Chester had a meeting to go to. Our CUE team remained in caucus, studying the 9 non-economic proposals he had presented earlier in the day. We had to do it line by line, over three iterations of the text, to be certain--finally--that most of them were "take-aways" from current contract language. More of that "good faith bargaining" we've come to expect. When you follow the dots to include layoffs of our team members...well, I guess that's what "exploring all possibilities for agreement" really means.
The next day, I remained in the hotel in a persistent vegetative state hoping to feel better the next day. I was wrong, as it turns out...but my team-mates said the day had gone a little better, arranging those non-economic deckchairs on the metaphorical sinking ship of your choice.
And finally, the last day, discussions continued on the non-economic articles...specifically those concerned with "Corrective Action & Dismissal", "Performance Evaluations", and the University's proposed changes to the "Personnel Files" article. I was still sick, didn't take very good notes, and couldn't wait to get on the plane home. CUE will counter-propose language on all these articles after consultation with the Statewide Executive Board.
We planned to meet again at UC Riverside on the 14th and 15th of this month, but AFSCME's Service Workers have called a one-day strike for the 14th and we won't be crossing any picket lines. So our next bargaining experience will be held at UC Irvine on April 21st & 22nd.
HEARING BEFORE THE STATE LEGISLATURE
Just received email from Beth Kean, Director of the CALIFORNIA NURSES ASSOCIATION, reporting on a legislative hearing April 7th that involved ALL the UC unions and members of the California State Senate holding the University's feet to the fire. Ms. Kean ended her report with the words: "See everyone on the picket line Thursday!" That's a mighty fine wish, y'all. I've been invited to Santa Cruz, where worker solidarity is expected to shut the place down on Thursday the 14th. Wishing you all the best, my brave CUEsters. They will bluster and threaten, as usual. Remember, it's because they're afraid of you.
IF YOU DON'T BELONG TO CUE,
THEY THINK YOU BELONG ON YOUR KNEES
Got a problem with that?
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THE STRIKE FUND...AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR FUTURE
Donating an hour's pay to the CUE Strike Fund every month is something anybody can do. An investment in your pretty immediate future, I believe. Send it to:
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ATTN: Strike Fund
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Blessins and Solidarity,
--BT (Bert Thomas, CUE's UCLA Bargaining Representative)
4.12.2005