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START Program

The University proposed a program where employees can voluntarily reduce their time to help locations address the serious budget deficits facing the University in the next few years. Called the STaff and Academic Reduction in Time (START) Program, it spurred the Coalition of Unions to meet with the University to discuss this proposal. As a result of meeting with the University, Gayle Cieszkiewicz (Executive Director of UC's Labor Relations Operation) wrote the following letter to the Coalition of Unions addressing some of the concerns raised at the meeting.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

OFFICE OF THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT —
BUSINESS AND FINANCE
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
300 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, California 94612-3550

April 23, 2003

Ms. Claudia Horning
Coalition of University Employees
2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite 302
Berkeley, California 94705

RE: START PROGRAM

Dear Ms. Horning:

Thank you for meeting with me and other University of California representatives on March 27, 2003. We discussed some very important issues, and I wish that we had more time to meet on that day. Fortunately, we have scheduled a follow-up meeting for April 22nd, to discuss health benefits matters.

The purpose of this letter is to respond to some questions that you posed regarding the proposed START Program. As was discussed, the START Program has been developed to help locations address the serious budget deficits that the University will most likely face for the next few years. The University has carefully considered your suggestions and we have incorporated some of your suggestions into the program.

1. Will the University be able to provide information about how much money is saved?
   Systems are set up for repots on participation by employee and the University will be developing reports to show how much money is saved during the START Program period. Employee participation information will also be on the FTP site.
2. Will the University be able to track how the savings are actually spent?
   We have not been able to identify a method of tracking this information.
3. Will the employee be able to terminate her/his participation in START?
   The employee will be able to terminate her/his participation in the START Program. We have added the following provision to accommodate this possibility:
   "Participation in START may be terminated by the employee or department head by giving 30 days notice on intent to terminate the START Contract. If an employee is faced with an emergency situation that requires the START Contract to be terminated, the 30 day notice requirement will be waived."
4. How will work assigned to START participants be accomplished?
   Departments will review priorities and ensure that START participants are assigned appropriate workloads to reflect the reduction in time.
5. Will departments consider offering START before the implementation of any layoffs?
   The START Program is designed for departments to be able to offer START at any time in the 25-month period so that they will be able to use the START Program to minimize the impact of layoffs.
6. Are Librarians eligible to participate in the START Program?
   Yes, Librarians are eligible to participate.
7. Who has the authority to make START decisions?
   Department heads may approve the application of START for employees in their departments. Please obtain the names of the designated Department heads through the local Human Resources Office.
8. Can employees maintain Holiday accrual at the pre START level?
   Holiday hours are not accrued in the same manner as Sick Leave and Vacation Leave. Each employee gets 13 holidays. When the employee takes a holiday off, s/he is paid according to her/his percent appointment at the time.

I believe that this is responsive to the concerns raised at the meeting. I am asking that you sign below indicating that the START Program is applicable to employees that you exclusively represent. The program will commence on June 1, 2003, and end on June 30, 2005. Please return the signed copy to me as soon as possible to ensure that the employees you represent are able to participate as soon as possible.

Cordially,

Gayle Cieszkiewicz
Executive Director - Labor Relations Operation

cc: Associate Vice President Boyette
Executive Director French
University Negotiators
Chief Human Resource Officers
Labor Relations Managers