The University of California offered lecturers a new settlement
package Wednesday, but a resolution to collective bargaining
disputes does not seem to be in sight.
Though members of the University Council of the American
Federation of Teachers said they have not yet completely gone over
the UC’s offer, what they have seen so far in writing and
during mediated talks on Monday and Tuesday does not look like a
satisfactory deal.
“We’re not expecting to see something that meets our
expectations,” said Fred Glass, a press aide for the
UC-AFT.
Though the union has not yet analyzed all of the offer’s
specifics, lecturers were disappointed that the UC even presented a
package in the first place.
“We were right in the middle of writing articles to send
to them … when they announced they were sending two
packages,” said Kevin Roddy, UC-AFT president and medieval
studies lecturer at UC Davis.
The university gave lecturers a settlement package conditional
on the signing of a new contract and an overview of terms possible
if no agreement is reached after impasse proceedings, a point
negotiations have not yet reached.
Lecturers are not satisfied with points of the offer that they
have already examined. The new package would raise minimum salaries
for lecturers with more than 6 years of experience to $41,712 and
increase pay for lectures with less experience to $37,572 for the
2003-2004 year. Since many lecturers already make more money, the
union is unimpressed.
The UC is unlikely to make any substantial changes to
Wednesday’s offer, as university officials see little room
for change.
The university has given the union its best offer and sees no
reason to change it, said UC press aide Paul Schwartz.
Though the UC did not specifically say the package was its last
offer, Roddy said sending two packages seems to indicate the UC is
moving toward its final position.
Schwartz said it was inaccurate to call the packages a final
offer though the university is “looking to conclude these
negotiations as soon as possible.”
Lecturers have worked for over two years without a contract and
an agreement between the two parties has proven elusive. Lecturers
have striked in protest of alleged unfair bargaining practices
three times since May, including a two-day strike last week held at
five UC campuses.
The UC has maintained that UC-AFT’s strikes were illegal,
and the California Public Employment Relations Board filed a
complaint against the lecturers union for a strike held in August
at UC Berkeley. PERB also filed a complaint against the UC in
August for unilaterally raising health care costs.
Despite legal questions surrounding UC-AFT, if no agreement is
reached, additional strikes may occur by January, and the UCLA
campus is unlikely to avoid a future work stoppage.
“Long story short, UC-AFT is going to strike at
UCLA,” said political science lecturer Rob Hennig and member
of the UC-AFT negotiating team.
Problems remaining unsolved in collective bargaining issues
revolve around pay raises, job security and dispute resolution
procedure.
The last item is a key point for lecturers, who argue any future
contract must include provisions for a third party to settle any
disagreements that may arise between the UC and lecturers.
Neither Schwartz nor the UC-AFT were able to describe in detail
the exact dispute resolution process contained in the new offer
though the union did not expect the package would meet their
demands.
“If the offer reflects the negotiations of the last couple
of days, there’s not enough enforceability,” Glass
said.
When asked if the lack of a third party mechanism could be
considered a deal breaker, Glass said “yes.”
Though Schwartz did not have access to specific contract
language on dispute resolution, he said the UC is not ignoring the
matter.
The UC set Friday as the deadline for the union’s
response, but Roddy does not expect the union will be ready by
then.
The union will probably meet with the UC next week, he said.
With reports from Shane Nelson, Daily Bruin Contributor.