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NOTES FROM THE BARGAINING BUBBLE #19
by Bert Thomas, UCLA Representative, CUE BARGAINING TEAM
(A personal diary, not the Official Report)
THE "PRE-MEDIATION MEETINGS":, SEPTEMBER 13 IN LOS ANGELES AND SEPTEMBER 22 IN IRVINE
OK, "Pre-Mediation" is over. Bring on the Mediator.
His name is Paul Roose, of the State Conciliation and Mediation Service. All I know of him is that UC wanted somebody else.
The teams will meet with him on October 11th & 12th for the first of several expected sessions. At this moment, we are not certain exactly where this session will be held, except it will be in the north. After the first meeting together, the procedure is something like "shuttle diplomacy," where the Mediator hustles back and forth betwixt the parties (in separate rooms) with proposals, trade offers, cajolery--occasionally bringing us together-- trying to craft an agreement between people who can no longer stand the sight of each other. That's how it looks. That's how it feels. Like division of property in an ugly divorce. Only, the parties still have to live together in the same house, making breakfast, washing dishes, taking out the garbage and mowing the lawn...as though nothing were wrong with an arrangement that favors one so far above the other in wages, workload, and discipline.
CUE has made concessions on wages I hoped we would never make: from the 21% across 3 years we opened with more than a year ago, trying to bring our workforce up to UC's own measure of market parity...to the present 12% or so "promised" in the Governor's compact. Wage equity was the principal issue identified by our membership in the survey of Clerical workers' goals before bargaining commenced.
And the pay and other terms are STILL not quite lousy enough to satisfy the creepy critters at the top of this corporate institution. Hell, I've wasted ammunition on poor Peter Chester, UC's Negotiator, shooting him full of holes all year. He's only been the mouthpiece for even creepier people who scare him from the top: President Robert "Maximum Bob" Dynes, Joe Mullinix, Judith Boyette...buttressed by a clueless and largely supine Board of rubber-stamp Regents, who co-sign any and all of the bizarre abuses of public trust and treasure put forth by the Dynes regime. Funny, I never thought "charm" was one of Maximum Bob's gifts...but how else can one understand the way in which the Regents seem to lay down in the road to be run over by this man? To be so uncritical, unquestioning, unaccountable. They can all claim later that it was his fault...while he, already, claims it is theirs. Makes it a little hard to pin the tail on the donkey, doesn't it?
THE RICH ARE...POOR
Perhaps you saw the recent news article that featured these fine people hitting on wealthy private donors to help increase salaries among the senior ranks? Salaries of $350,000 a year are thought to be too modest to recruit and retain people of this quality. No doubt this is correct...a kleptocracy can only appeal to a plutocracy for additional juice. The rest of us are all dried up. Tapped out. But how come it never occurs to them to help the people making LESS THAN A TENTH of that amount? I believe these pitiful, shallow souls are desperately out of touch with reality. I understand them only in terms of their fear of us and each other. I remember them from junior high...they were the people nobody liked. And STILL no one likes them. But they are rich.
The "Pre-Mediation" meetings--requested by Peter Chester AFTER the PERB lawyer granted his "petition for declaration of impasse"--resulted in the following list of contract Articles remaining for the Mediator, Paul Roos, to try to resolve between CUE and the University:
That's 18 of them. Let the games begin October 11th & 12th.
LAST "BUBBLE"?
As a laid-off CUE member, I'm moving out of the jurisdiction on October 15th. My wife and I are moving to Santa Cruz to aid in the shameless spoiling and corruption of her beautiful grandson. As of this writing, I don't know what the union or the Local (#4--UCLA) will choose to do about my service as representative to the Bargaining Team. I am willing to serve (and Bubble-ize) until this contract is completed, but will defer to Executive Board judgements on this.
I wish you well, no matter what.
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Joining CUE is cheap, effective, and easy. And it entitles you to vote
and run for office soon in the new statewide and local elections. PLEASE DO.
You can
now JOIN CUE ONLINE at:
http://www.cueunion.org/membership_info/membformweb.pdf
Fill out the form, print, sign, and mail or fax it. Whether you're a
member or not, CUE is there for you. If you need help here at UCLA Local
4, visit our website (below) or call our mighty Organizers:
Unity is Intelligent. Fun. And often more Interesting than your Job.
--BT
(Bert Thomas, CUE's UCLA Bargaining Representative)
10.1.2005
Or get your Bubbles at the UCLA website.