| Coalition of University Employees (CUE) | 2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite #302, Berkeley, CA 94705 Contact CUE (510) 845-2221 (phone), (510) 845-7444 (FAX) |
COALITION OF UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES
State Headquarters: 2855 Telegraph Av., Berkeley CA (510) 845-2221 Fax (510) 845-7444
http://www.cueunion.org
Berkeley, August 5 Last week, Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Richman ruled, in a lawsuit brought by the Coalition of University Employees (CUE), that the UC Regents must disclose the “internal rate of return” or “IRR” of their venture capital investments.
But now, the University of California, Board of Regents, refusing to accept the court’s ruling forcing it to publicly disclose investment losses, has asked the Court to “rethink” its ruling.
“It is astounding that even after the court’s ruling, the UC Regents continue to oppose sharing information about the UC retirement fund with the working men and women whose contributions make up this fund,” stated Mary Higgins, a member of the CUE Executive Board from UC San Francisco. “Maybe the Board of Regents and its investment bankers can afford to gamble on venture funds, but clerical workers are depending on their pensions for retirement.”
The UC retirement plan manages $34 billion for 173,343 people, including 35,165 current retirees and beneficiaries. The value of its endowment fund fell 10.7 percent last year, more than any other of the 10 largest U.S. university endowments, except for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Apparently the Board of Regents still hasn’t learned anything,” declared CUE president Claudia Horning. “A similar case was won against CALPers last year. We want to make sure the decisions that impact everyone who is contributing to the retirement fund - including President Richard Atkinson - are discussed and made in public.”
Despite the University’s alleged financial woes, the Regents have used seven lawyers to fight the lawsuit, two of them coming from a high priced outside law firm, at the same time tuition is being raised by 30 percent for students throughout the UC system.
The Coalition of University Employees represents 18,000 clerical employees at the nine UC campuses, associated medical centers, Office of the President and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. These employees include administrative and library assistants, cashiers, public safety dispatchers, and child care workers.
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For more information, contact:
COALITION OF UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES
State Headquarters: 2855 Telegraph Av., Berkeley CA
(510) 845-2221; Fax (510) 845-7444
www.cueunion.org