| Coalition of University Employees (CUE) | 2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite #302, Berkeley, CA 94705 Contact CUE (510) 845-2221 (phone), (510) 845-7444 (FAX) |
| Argument for a Yes Vote on Question #1 |
April 9, 2003
This is an opinion in favor of a Yes vote on the mediator's proposal.
You don't have to like the mediator's proposal to vote to accept it. No one can argue that either of these wage proposals is fair or that either of them is the best that UC can offer. The reason to vote to accept the mediator's proposal is entirely based on other considerations.
While our bargaining team, supported by our lawyers and compensation experts, has made our case to the university, CUE has made impressive organizational progress to support the team. Our growing membership supported limited-term strikes at 5 campuses. We've brought legislators' attention to UC's lies, and our expanded media efforts have made UC's lies a matter of public information. Obviously, this hasn't been enough to cause UC administration to admit publicly that UC can afford fair pay raises. So, what would it take to force the money out of UC?
It isn't simply what happens inside the bargaining room that wins good contracts -- it is what happens outside the bargaining room, in our case, on all the UC campuses. Growing membership is part of the needed dynamic, and we are doing well on this count. But UC also needs to see that UC clericals are willing to take the usual last step in such a dispute: UC needs to experience an ongoing strike at each and every campus and hospital location of UC -- or a credible threat of such a strike. We've taken a giant step in that direction, but to this point, we've closed down none of the 5 medical centers, and we have not struck at 4 main campuses.
There is nothing to be ashamed about in this situation and we should congratulate ourselves for the five short but wonderful Unfair Labor Practice strikes that we had at Berkeley/UCOP, Davis, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, especially considering the fact that the idea of a real union and member activism is new to large parts of UC's clerical workforce. The fall 2002 strikes have given us experience and knowledge that will make it all the easier to mount a larger, longer strike next time out, when we'll need to double our efforts!
If you vote to reject the contract, it should mean that you are willing to engage in, and work (hard) to build, the kind of strike that would be needed to get a better contract offer. Saying "no" is only a first step.
Given the fact that UC has started on a program of layoffs and has convinced so many staff that they are lucky to even hold a job in days of widespread unemployment, and given the reasonable tendency of so many of us to focus on developments in Iraq and in the related deterioration of civil rights and job security at home, it seems unlikely that we have what it takes to turn around the course of the present bargaining. It would be more realistic to acknowledge that we came very far, but not far enough, with this contract. Let's get ready for the next one.
Final points:
It is unrealistic to think that if we go to impasse and factfinding, the pay offer is going to improve. Even if the factfinder confirms our contention that UC could afford to pay us more, a fact already widely appreciated, there is no reason to believe that UC would suddenly change its wage offer. Let's remember that UC has never told our bargainers that they don't have the money - only that clericals are not a priority. As for the non-wage articles, the mediator's proposal includes language improvements that deal with layoff and subcontracting, as well as health and safety and several additional points. None of this language will necessarily be included in whatever UC might implement if we go through impasse and factfinding, with UC allowed to impose its last/best offer.
It is time to bring closure to the present bargaining. For one thing, until we agree on a contract, we won't have access to arbitration as a way to resolve grievances. The next contract would begin in fall 2004, and bargaining would begin before then, probably in spring 2004, not so far away. Let's use all of our energies to develop a strategy to go even further with our next contract. Our good work with the legislators in the last few months will serve us well in our next bargaining. CUE's successes to date are exemplary. Let's go further next time!