CUE NEWSLETTER NO. 6
Spring 1997
Who will win?
Who will win the upcoming representational election in the UC clerical unit? CUE? AFSCME? NO REP? CUE activists think that CUE has a good chance to win the election, and we asked some of them why they are so hopeful.
According to Vice President and UCLA library assistant Claudia Horning, on most campuses, AFSCME's reputation is of an organization, which simply can't be found. "If AFSMCE turns up now, with a lot of expensive literature and give-aways to win the election, people are just going to ask 'Where have you been for the last decade?'" said Horning. "It appears that the AFSCME experience has turned a lot of people off unions, and we have a lot of work to do to convince people to not give up hope that our situation can be improved with an effective union."
We asked if the growth in anti-union feelings means that clericals will vote for "no union." "If they do, this would be a big mistake," said Gilda Brock, secretary to her department chair on the Berkeley campus. In Brock's opinion, there are tow points of view which might cause a person to make "the mistake" of voting for "No Rep." The first is the view that UC management is already making fair decisions about our pay, benefits, health and safety, the quality of supervision, our rights under layoffs and reorganizations, etc., a view that says we don't need a union. Do many clericals subscribe to this view? "Absolutely not," said Brock.
The second view that might lead to a vote for "No Rep" is the opinion that even though UC's treatment of clerical workers needs improvement, the University is too huge to be swayed through bargaining. How does CUE respond to this attitude?
Teresa Lass from UCSD points to the fact that the clerical bargaining unit is the largest bargaining unit in the UC system. "Collectively we have a huge amount of potential power. We just saw a hint of that power when we collected over 8,000 signatures from clericals systemwide calling for an election. This is not the time to be selling ourselves short!"
What about the opinion that because UC's budget is linked to the the state budget, there can be no bargaining with UC itself over pay and other items that cost money and thus there is no use for a union. "Nonsense," responds Paul Hessinger from UCSF. "First of all, a huge number of the important things we need to fight for would cost little or now money. Protections against arbitrary layoffs, campus-wide layoff units, subcontracting protections like the state employees have, better health and safety protection, stronger language on nondiscrimination, a fair grievance process -- these are not costly items, but they are terribly important. And we need to have a union that is a strong advocate for people who are unlucky enough to work in departments with poor supervision and who need grievance help."
"Second," adds Hessinger "even the money items, like pay, are things UC has a lot more room to bargain than management likes to admit. UC is not as limited by the legislature as you might think. Only about 25% of UC's budget comes from the state. Besides, the fact that UC has a limited budget does not make it different from other employers; the question is what are the budget priorities? In the past top priority has gone to top executives getting huge pay raises on top of of gigantic salaries, while we are looking at raises of 2% or nothing at all. We need to change that."
CUE President Elinor Levine, a UCB Administrative Assistant, summarized CUE's attitude toward the election. "If clericals believe that they need and deserve better pay and other conditions from UC, and if they believe that it is possible to get a better deal, it makes sense to vote for CUE. A vote for AFSCME is a vote for a program that didn't work. A vote for "No Rep" is a vote for the boss to make all the decisions for us. But a vote for CUE is a vote for ourselves."
Go to Table of Contents
Who is CUE - What do we do?
CUE, the Coalition of University Employees, is a democratic organization of UC clerical employees with members throughout the UC system. Our goal is to build a strong union so that clerical employees can have a chance to have a voice in our work life.
CUE's main thrust now is to build membership in our new union and to work toward winning an election so that when we have the chance to bargain a new contract we will have the strength of many members. All of CUE's dues will go to organize UC clericals and to build a strong union. We invite each and every clerical to talk to us, to raise questions and concerns.
What Does CUE Stand For?
We'll be expanding and refining this list as more people join us and bring their own concerns and priorities, but already we have identified some basic points.
WAGES
For years we've endured stagnant wages which haven't come close to keeping pace with inflation. We stand for reasonable wage increases. In 1993, our wages were cut 5% for a period of several months while our workload remained the same. CUE will make bargaining for better wages a top priority, by building membership strength so we'll have power at the bargaining table. We deserve raises bigger than the recent 2% we received. Why 2% raises for clericals, when the UC General Counsel is receiving a $22,422 pay increase this year and other UC employees with salaries over $100,000 are receiving raises of 6 to 8.5%?
BENEFITS
--are a large part of our compensation, and UC has been reducing them by introducing co-payments, reducing the quality of health care packages offered, introducing more stringent "managed care" requirements, shrinking retirement features and reducing services from available HMO's. CUE plans to pressure UC to strengthen present benefits and expand the retirement package.JOB SECURITY
Many of us dedicate our careers to UC, but UC isn't dedicated to us. Reorganizations and layoffs, once rare, and a downward trend of working conditions are now commonplace. CUE believes clericals need much stronger rights in matters of layoff, speedup (same pay, more work), protections against "medical separations", better health and safety protections, and preferential rehire rights.
HRMI
Salary increases should be distributed fairly across the board rather than as "incentives" to a chosen few. HRMI's incentive awards are unfair and divisive. CUE believes that most clericals favor cost-of-living increases rather than one-time bonuses.
FLEXIBILTY
While UC says it supports a flexible work environment, the facts are often different. Employees should be able to work flexible schedules.
FILLING THE INFORMATION GAP
CUE is comprise of clericals from all the UC campuses and focuses on issues that are of central and immediate concern to clericals. We know the issues because we do the work and experience the working conditions firsthand. We will track newly emerging issues on all nine campuses. Because UC is so spread out, it is critical that there be a clearinghouse for information systemwide. We will try to fill the frustrating information gap, which many clericals experience at UC by providing clear, pertinent information to all clericals in the UC system.
CUE intends to provide a critical perspective on the University's actions and positions and on other developments in the community that affects UC workers. We will help clericals to know their rights and how to exercise them. CUE plans to be active on the legislative level on issues concerning workers, such as heath and safety, non-discrimination, minimum wage, and contracting out.
INTEGRITY & PARTICIPATION
CUE pledges to maintain a high standard of democracy and non-discrimination, so all members will have the ability to participate fully at every level of the organization. We support equity, affirmative action, and true equal opportunity in all aspects of employment.
UNITY
We will work with other groups in the fight against managed and deteriorating health care, privatization, and downsizing.
It can't be done without you. We have succeeded at the first step in the process, and one that many naysayers said could not be done. We need your support and membership to move on to the next step. In the coming campaign, UC and the other union will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat us. We must rely on ourselves for money, ideas, time and energy. With 18,000 of us, if each of us contributes just a little, we can be a powerful force. Working together we can win the respect we deserve.
Contest For Clericals: Watch the Boss!
CUE offers a prize to the UC clerical worker who identifies UC management's use of the greatest number of the following anti-union lines in the upcoming union election campaign. Where does UC get these pitches? We guess there is a universal handbook for employers who claim to be "neutral" but who, in fact, want to sway an election against a union, because these same lines seem to turn up in anti-union campaigns everywhere. See how many of these zany claims you can spot before the end of the campaign. Send us the evidence! Whoever finds the most by the end of the campaign will win tickets for 4 to any movie showing at the movie theatre of your choice. So, see how quickly you can find these lines in UC's "neutral information:
- We are one big family at UC & unions just get in the way.
- "No representation" means "self-representation."
- It is illegal for us to talk about unions or the election on work-time.
- Staff always has management's ear, and mangement is listening carefully.
- There are many advisory committees and these offer the best ways to express ourselves.
- Unions will limit staff ability to work flexible hours and will dictate rigid work rules.
- Unions are outsiders who just want our money.
- Unions force workers to strike.
- Union contracts are not perfect, so we shouldn't have one.
- Any union-related problems in the past (like delayed pay raises) are bound to be repeated in the future.
Good luck in your search!
Information is Critical for building a strong union
CUE offers you this chance to keep yourself and your co-workers informed - by distributing CUE literature in you department, floor or building. You tell us the area you want to cover, and we'll tell you who the clericals are, and we'll remind you of you rights to do this kind of thing. Requirements: you must be reliable and willing to take a few minutes every 1-2 months to deliver material. Minimum of 15 copies strongly encouraged but not necessary.The goal: a distributor in every building on every campus. If you can help, contact CUE at clericals@igc.org or write to: CUE P.O. Box 618, Berkeley, CA 94701
CUE's Workshop Series
Are you doing AAIII-level work, but still classified as an AAI? Did your supervisor flunk out of charm school? Are you confused about FMLA, LOA and ADA? CUE is offering a series of three workshops, which may help you:
**Working with a difficult supervisor**
will cover performance evaluations, discipline and dismissal, layoff, letters of warning, counseling memos, and strategies for organizing at the workplace.
**Leaves of Absence**
will include the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), sick leave, vacation leave, leaves of absence, disability and workers compensation.
**The Reclass Workshop**
will walk you through the preparation of a reclassification case and discuss ways to improve your chances of getting reclassified.
If you want us to present a workshop at you campus, contact us by phone or e-mail at clericals@igc.org and we will work with you to find a convenient time for you and your co-workers.