New York Times Ad -- January 2003

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The University of California is failing Ethics 101

Why is UC still California's "worst public employer"?¹

When the Regents of the University of California meet this week, it's not just business as usual.

We're the women and men of CUE, the Coalition of University Employees, representing 18,000 hard-working clericals throughout the UC system.

We are the ones who keep UC running--helping students register, find housing and jobs, keeping faculty on-line and on-time. Our dedication pays the bills and keeps the lights on--for paychecks that the University acknowledges are far below market rate.

• UC knows what it needs to do to show clericals the respect we deserve. In November, the Regents voted to affirm their commitment to hard-working clericals, by bringing our salaries closer to market rate, and asking the Legislature for its help.
• UC can afford to do right by its workers--last year, top managers got raises of up to 25%. But UC is offering most workers a net pay cut after increases for medical insurance and parking fees.
• UC has more than $4 billion²--that's billion with a B--in unrestricted funds set aside for a rainy day. Today is that rainy day.

Forty-nine members of the California Legislature have written to UC, urging negotiators to follow state law and seek better relations with employees. We applaud these leaders for their support of fairness and justice:

Lieutenant Governor		Assemblymembers:
and Regent		Joseph Canciamilla
Cruz M. Bustamante		Wilma Chan
		Ed Chavez
Senate President Pro Tem		Judy Chu
John Burton		Rebecca Cohn
		Ellen M. Corbett
Senators:		Lou Correa
Richard Alarcon		Manny Diaz
Gil Cedillo		John A. Dutra
Wesley Chesbro		Marco Antonio Firebaugh
Martha Escutia		Dario Frommer
Liz Figueroa		Jackie Goldberg
Betty Karnette		Loni Hancock
Sheila Kuehl		Jerome Horton
Deborah Ortiz		Hannah-Beth Jackson
Don Perata		Christine Kehoe
Gloria Romero		Paul Koretz
Nell Soto		John Laird
Tom Torlakson		Carol Liu
John Vasconcellos		John Longville
		Alan Lowenthal
Assembly Speaker		Barbara S. Matthews
Herb Wesson, Jr.		Joe Nation
		Gloria Negrete McLeod
		Fabian Nuñez
		Jenny Oropeza
		Fran Pavley
		Sarah L. Reyes
		Simon Salinas
		S. Joseph Simitian
		Darrell Steinberg
		Juan Vargas
		Patricia Wiggins

1. Testimony by Assemblymember Dion Aroner at Legislative hearing into UC's labor practices, 6/9/00, as quoted in the Contra Costa Times.
2. "UC's Hidden Wealth: An Analysis of 10 Years of UC's Financial Reports," PBI Associates, May 2002, updated by UC at www.ucop.edu/ucophome/cao/reports/2002/pdf/assetsetc.pdf.

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Without raises that bring our pay closer to market rate, UC may continue to face 50% turnover among first-year employees. The high turnover rate diminishes services to students and faculty--and costs UC in the long run.

Regents, no more business as usual--tell UC to bargain fairly and treat workers with respect!

Coalition of University Employees
For more information, contact the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) at clericals@cueunion.org.