UCLA student and faculty members push for better employee conditions

UCLA faculty and students marched and rallied at Bruin Plaza Tuesday for increased job stability, more access to welfare benefits and a greater say in campus government for lecturers and librarians.

About 30 people associated with the University of California branch of the American Federation of Teachers, also known as UC-AFT Local 1990, picketed for half an hour as students trickled up Bruin Walk to the Enormous Activities Fair. That afternoon, representatives from UC Labor Relations, Academic Personnel and Programs and the Office of the President began to negotiate the terms of the latest employment contract for lecturers and librarians, said Mia McIver, president of UC-AFT Local 1990 and a lecturer for UCLA Writing Programs.

The contract, which was last updated four years ago, outlines employment terms such as appointment length, employee benefits and inclusiveness in campus decision-making.

Ralliers protested for improvements in all three areas, such as receiving greater UC employee benefits. McIver said lecturers are not currently entitled to Social Security or health care and cannot vote on campus policy measures such as the campuswide diversity requirement because they are not members of the Academic Senate.

McIver added the UC system often employs lecturers on a quarterly or yearly basis. She said she thinks the process forces lecturers to reapply for their jobs each summer and hold positions at multiple universities, which may affect their ability to see students on campus at regular and predictable times.

UC teachers formed UC-AFT in 1971 and helped negotiate contracts for UCLA lecturers and librarians in 2003, 2005 and 2007, according to the UC-AFT website.

Academic departments hire lecturers only when necessary or when they receive approval from the UCLA administration, according to the UCLA Academic Personnel Office website. Lecturers are usually assigned heavier instructional loads than departmental professors, who have both research and teaching requirements, as well as the ability to be tenured.

McIver added she hopes the rally encourages campus community members to support the role lecturers play in undergraduate education.

“This is an opportunity to send a public message to UC administrators that lecturers deserve more respect and better teaching conditions,” McIver said.

Administrative members will meet for a second bargaining session this Thursday.

Compiled by Allison Ong, Bruin reporter.