| Coalition of University Employees (CUE) | 2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite #302, Berkeley, CA 94705 Contact CUE (510) 845-2221 (phone), (510) 845-7444 (FAX) |
Original press release as a PDF file
COALITION OF UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES
State Headquarters: 2855 Telegraph Av., Berkeley CA (510) 845-2221 Fax (510) 845-7444
http://www.cueunion.org
Workers to rally Wednesday at Office of the President, Oakland
WHO: COALITION OF UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES (CUE)
WHAT: STRIKE & MASS DEMONSTRATION
WHEN: Continuing, June 13-15, 2005
WHERE: 10 campuses, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the UC Office of the President at 1111 Franklin Street, Oakland.
Clearly concerned about the impact of strike actions across the state by Coalition of University Employees (CUE) members and supporters, UC Assistant Director-Labor Relations, Peter Chester, UC negotiator for current contract talks, is tying any proposed UC salary increases to the costs incurred by the university related to the CUE job actions. In a letter dated June 13, 2005 Chester stated, "...the University reserves the right to change the effective dates of any proposed salary increases in the University Wage Proposal for FY 05-06 to the extent that the University incurs any costs related to the CUE job action on June 13th-June 15th."
Contacted early this morning, CUE's legal counsel, Ari Krantz, responded that "On June 16, 2005, CUE will be filing an extensive unfair labor practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board detailing UC's lengthy history of bad faith bargaining, including, most recently, threatening to take its current offer 'off the table' and prematurely cut short negotiations -- a threat that UC Chief Negotiator Peter Chester made on June 3 and has repeated since then."
UC's refusal to grant the modest salary increases recommended by neutral arbitrator and fact-finder, Gerald McKay, for the 2003-04 contract negotiations has angered administrative assistants, child-care workers, library assistants and other workers represented by CUE. Chester and other UC officials have continued to try to connect the strike with the current contract negotiations.
CUE chief negotiator, Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, stated that "This seems to be a tactic of the university in their strategy to force the current successor negotiations to impasse so that the university can impose a lousy wage offer as it did for the 2003-04 negotiations. UC continues its legacy of bad faith bargaining and union busting activities."
CUE represents over 16,000 workers on the 10 campuses throughout the state and at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Through a series of court cases the union has successfully been able to force the university to disclose information on its investment strategies and decisions in the ongoing struggle to establish more accountability of top UC executives and the Regents. Many believe that the hard line attitude of UC labor relations and negotiators in the current contract talks is in retaliation for the union's advocacy on behalf of UC workers and protection of the pension fund.
"None of the retaliation or threats from the university can make us give up this struggle," commented CUE statewide president, Mary G. Higgins, who herself has been suspended for three days because of her observance of the AFSCME picket lines in April and the UPTE picket lines in May. "They're talking out of both sides of their mouth...they say employees have the right to honor a picket line, but if we do, we're subject to discipline and suspension? It's ridiculous." Both AFSCME and UPTE are unions representing UC workers and both were in contract talks at the time of their strikes. AFSCME has since settled an agreement with the university while UPTE, like CUE, is still embroiled in contract negotiations.
As with the 2003-04 negotiations, wages, increasing benefit and parking costs are at the crux of the dispute between UC and the unions. The university cites the state financial crisis as an impediment to its ability to offer higher wages to the workers paid the least at the same time when it is granting obscene salary increases to top executives. Union spokesperson and chief steward Margy Wilkinson points to the recent salary increase (61% to $450,000 per year) of David Russ, Treasurer for the Regents, as "just the tip of the iceberg" of the greed and corruption at the top. "I graduated from UC Berkeley and have worked here for over 30 years and never have the actions of UC management been more shameful and callous than the levels they've sunk to in the last five years."
Strike participants will converge upon the offices of President Robert Dynes (dubbed "Backdoor Bob" during his tenure as chancellor in San Diego because of his escape antics whenever union leaders would attempt to meet with him) on Wednesday, June 15. Strike organizers expect busloads of disgruntled workers to descend upon the Office of the President at 1111 Franklin Street in Oakland. Workers will be coming from as far south as Los Angeles, from the peninsula from Santa Cruz, and from the north Davis, and Sacramento.
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For more information, contact:
COALITION OF UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES
State Headquarters: 2855 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley CA
(510) 845-2221; Fax (510) 845-7444
www.cueunion.org