12/8/09 Letter From CUE's Chief Negotiator on Effects of Temporary Layoff Agreement with UC

Original in PDF format.

I'm pleased to announce the CUE Bargaining Team has reached an agreement with the University regarding the effects of the temporary layoffs and campus closures, which contains substantial improvements over the program that the University initially sought to impose on CUE-represented employees.

Some of the improvements that we have achieved are as follows:

1. Employees will receive the pay reduction resulting from the layoffs over a 12-month period, rather than all at once, in order to reduce the financial impact on employees and their families. However, employees that prefer to take the pay reduction at the time of the layoff have the right to do so upon written request.
2. Layoff days will coincide with campus closures days, so that closures will generally not result in unpaid days additional to the number of layoff days. However, employees will have the right to request to take their layoff days at a different time if they prefer.
3. Employees will continue to accrue vacation, sick leave, and other benefits during layoffs. Medical benefits will be maintained during layoffs as well.
4. Since employees who are temporarily laid off will have less time to perform their assigned tasks, the University must take this fact into account in the performance evaluation process.
5. The University may not require a CX employee to work overtime hours to perform work that would otherwise be performed by a laid off employee, except in emergency circumstances.
6. The University must rescind all layoff notices already issued which do not comply with this agreement.
7. The Union may enforce the agreement through the grievance procedure, or in court.
8. In making this agreement on the effects of the layoffs, the Union explicitly reserved the right to continue its legal case challenging the University's right to impose the layoffs in the first place.

Of course, the University's imposition of temporary layoffs will create hardships on many of us. Nevertheless, the CUE Bargaining Team believes that these hard-won gains will help to lessen the burden for the employees we represent.

We also are continuing forward with our legal action on the decision to impose the temporary layoffs. As we have told you, this legal fight may take some time. That's why the Team is pleased that we have achieved these improvements that will help CX employees now.

If you have questions about this agreement, please direct them to your CUE Local, or to the Bargaining Team at

The agreement itself will be posted on the CUE website shortly. As the implementation of the agreement moves forward, we expect to issue additional information about the specifics.

On behalf of the Bargaining Team, I wish to thank all of you who have worked hard to support your Union and your co-workers through this difficult time. It is through the hard work of many CUE members that this achievement is possible.

In Solidarity,

Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie
Chief Negotiator

CUE Bargaining Team:

Jill Monthei, UCSB
Kristi Rank, UCSB
Gail Moore, UCR
Alexis Talpash, UCR
Stephanie Dorton, UCB
Kathi Young, UCB
Susan Ervin, UCLA
Dorthea Stewart, UCSD
Tom Williams, UCSD
Mary Higgins, UCSF
Alice Guillory, UCSF
Dan Lewis, UCD
Helen Jefferson, LBNL
Anytra Henderson, LBNL
Dianna Sahhar, UCI
Linda Michelle Weinberger, UCI
Cynthia Norman, UCI