| Coalition of University Employees (CUE) CUE TEAMSTERS LOCAL 2010 | 2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite #301, Berkeley, CA 94705 Contact CUE (510) 845-2221 (phone), (510) 845-7444 (FAX) |
July 21, 2009
UC PROPOSED SALARY REDUCTIONS & FURLOUGHS
On July 15, 2009 the Regents voted yes to Agenda Item J1, which gave UC President Yudof the authorization to declare a financial emergency and yes to J2, which is Mr. Yudof's plan to subject UC to staff salary reductions and work furloughs. The complete text of J1 and J2, which currently are only applicable to unrepresented staff and management can be read at the Regents page: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul09/j1.pdf and http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul09/j2.pdf .
President Yudof has stated in his July 16th letter to the UC Community: For union-represented employees, implementation of the plan will be subject to collective bargaining agreements and all applicable laws. Discussions with union representatives, encouraging them to adopt the plan, will begin immediately.
On Friday, July 17th, the UC Team's Chief Negotiator, Peter Chester informed the CUE bargaining team that it did not have a proposal for the CUE Bargaining Team at this time. The CUE Team did question the UC team about the elements of J2, the furlough plan as it was approved by the Regents on Wednesday, July 15th. To our utter amazement, (we had not seen this detail in any of the UC publications or announcements) the furlough days will be PAID DAYS off! That is, we understood from the university team, the University would achieve its salary savings by implementing a slight wage reduction for all hours worked at the commencement of the furlough period. In exchange for this salary reduction are "paid furlough days" to be negotiated on a campus-by-campus basis. It was further explained to us that each location, campus and or medical center will be given the flexibility to determine how it wants to implement the furloughs.
Later a letter from Lynn M. Boland, Executive Director of Human Resources, was sent to CUE's state wide president, Khixaan Obioma-Sakhu, and CUE's chief negotiator, Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, after 5pm on July 17th proposing the university salary reduction and furlough plan for the Clerical and Allied Services unit. Ms. Boland's letter also indicated "If the scenarios listed do not represent a plan you wish to agree upon, the University is prepared to meet with you regarding any alternate plans you propose that will yield the same or similar cash savings as the Salary Reduction and Furlough Plan adopted by The Regents."
The CUE Bargaining Team and Executive Board are in consultation regarding these developments and in the process of developing alternatives to best protect the interests of the Clerical and Allied Services bargaining unit. We encourage you to go to the link for item J2 referenced above to see the details of the Plan that the university has provided thus far. You will soon be receiving additional information and asked to participate in surveys to ascertain your thinking and suggestions about these matters.
CUE Bargaining Team
Khixaan Obioma-Sakhu, Santa Barbara
Alexis Talpash, Riverside
Stephanie Dorton, Berkeley
Susan Ervin, Los Angeles
Dorthea Stewart, San Diego
Mary Higgins, San Francisco
Dan Lewis, Davis
Helen Jefferson, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Dianna Sahhar, Irvine
Kevin Parks, Santa Cruz
Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, Chief Negotiator
Robert Bonsall, CUE attorney