As you know, UC is currently in contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) regarding four separate academic employee groups: Postdoctoral Scholars, Academic Researchers, Academic Student Employees (teaching assistants/readers/tutors), and Graduate Student Researchers. Below is information for you and your bargaining unit colleagues about UC’s latest offers and bargaining developments.
UC proposes mediation to help facilitate agreements
Negotiations are ongoing, and UC and the UAW have been negotiating regularly for the past several days. Some progress has been made and tentative agreements have been reached on several important topics. At the same time, since significant differences remain on a number of core issues, UC has proposed that UC and the UAW enter into mediation with a neutral, private mediator to help resolve the remaining differences.
Collaboration and compromise help yield good agreements
In the last year, UC has settled contracts with unions representing UC lecturers, nurses, police and clerical and other administrative staff. These agreements were the result of both sides working collaboratively to find solutions, and demonstrating flexibility and a genuine willingness to compromise at the bargaining table. UC has approached the negotiations with UAW in the same fashion.
UC’s compensation proposals are highly competitive compared to peer institutions
To maintain fair and competitive compensation for UC academic employees and honor the critical role you and your colleagues play in UC’s teaching and research missions, UC researches the pay, benefits and other terms of employment that other top-tier U.S. universities — both public and private — provide their academic employees. If accepted, the wage proposals UC is offering the UAW would place UC academic employees at the top of the pay scale among public AAU universities, which are the top public research institutions in the country. UC’s compensation proposals are more comparable to what private universities provide.
UC offers UAW enhanced offers
As we’ve said previously, UC’s overarching goal in these negotiations is multiyear agreements that recognize your and your colleagues’ many important contributions with fair and competitive pay, quality health and family-friendly benefits, and a supportive and respectful work environment. UC’s proposals include multi-year pay increases, expanded paid leaves, increased family support, and enhanced childcare benefits for postdoctoral scholars, ASEs, and GSRs, and full coverage of all campus fees for eligible ASEs and GSRs. This is in addition to full UC coverage for tuition, health care premiums, and student services fees for eligible ASEs and GSRs.
Reflective of its commitment to good-faith negotiations, UC recently enhanced a number of its offers. The charts below summarize UC’s current offers for each bargaining unit.
Postdoctoral Scholars
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Pay Increases |
Average 8 percent increase in year one, 5 percent in year two, and 3 percent in subsequent years, in addition to annual experience-based increases. For a postdoc who is currently at Level 0, currently earning a salary of $55,632, UC’s current offer would increase their salary to $65,331 by October 1, 2023, an increase of 17.4 percent. |
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Childcare |
A new benefit of $2500 per year. |
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Paid Leave |
Expanded benefit that includes up to 8 weeks of paid leave for baby bonding and family care for eligible postdocs. |
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Parking & Transit (new benefit) |
In addition to maintaining annual caps on parking rates, UC will provide access to a pre-tax card or other method of paying for transit costs on a pre-tax basis within 12 months of contract ratification. |
Academic Researchers
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Pay Increases |
A 4 percent increase in year one followed by 3 percent increases in each subsequent year for a total 16 percent pay increase over the life of the contract, in addition to existing merit increases. |
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Paid Leave |
8 weeks of fully paid leave for family care and bonding for Family Medical Leave eligible Academic Researchers. |
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Benefits |
As with the current contract: Access to the comprehensive retirement, medical, dental, and other benefit programs generally available to other non-represented non-faculty academic employees. |
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Parking & Transit |
In addition to maintaining annual caps on parking rates, UC will provide access to a pre-tax card or other method of paying for transit costs on a pre-tax basis within 12 months of contract ratification. |
Academic Student Employees
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Pay Increases |
Within 90 days from ratification, TAs and Associate Instructors will receive a 7 percent increase at ratification; Teaching Fellows will receive an 8.33 percent increase. Hourly-paid ASEs will receive 5-8 percent increases. Next fall, TAs and Associate Instructors will be eligible for experience-based increases. In addition, after the first year, all salaried ASEs will receive 3 percent increases annually; and hourly-paid ASEs will receive 3-5 percent increases annually. A TA with one year of teaching experience today who will have two years of teaching experience by next fall will see a total pay increase of 16.9 percent by October 1, 2023. |
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Childcare |
$1350/quarter or $2025/semester, plus $1350 for summer. This represents a 22 percent increase over the current contract. |
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Fee Remissions |
UC has proposed to cover 100% of campus fees for eligible ASEs with 25 percent or greater appointments, up from $100 per quarter and $150 per semester. This represents an increase of over $1,000 per year on certain campuses, in addition to the 100% coverage of tuition, student services fees, and health care already provided to qualified ASEs. This amounts to UC covering a total of $13,707 up to $22,248 for all tuition and fees for eligible ASEs, depending on the amount of tuition and fees assessed by the campus. |
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Health Benefits |
As with current contract, eligible ASEs may participate in a UC-sponsored student health plan to the same degree as other eligible students at that campus. Eligible ASEs with 25 percent or more appointment to receive full remission of monthly premium for a UC-sponsored student health plan. |
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Parking & Transit |
UAW members who are students are able to participate in transit and parking related services on the same basis as other employees; eight of UC’s 10 campuses offer some form of student transit subsidy. |
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Leaves |
Expanded benefit of 8 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave (up from 6 weeks) and five weeks of paid baby bonding, personal medical, and family medical leave (up from 4 weeks). |
Graduate Student Researchers
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Pay Increases |
Most GSRs will see 9-10 percent increases in year one of the contract, with a 3 percent increase in each subsequent year. GSRs who are on the lowest two salary points will see a 17-26 percent increase in the first year. For example, a GSR who is currently on Step 2 with a 50% appointment will see their monthly salary increase by 17.5 percent in the first year of the contract. |
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Childcare |
$1350/quarter or $2025/semester; plus $1350 for summer. This represents a 22% increase over what campuses currently provide. |
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Fee Remissions |
UC has proposed to cover 100% of campus fees for eligible GSRs with 25 percent or greater appointments, up from $100 per quarter and $150 per semester. This represents an increase of over $1,000 per year on certain campuses, in addition to the 100% coverage of tuition, student services fees, and health care already provided to qualified GSRs. This amounts to UC covering a total of $13,707 up to $22,248 for all tuition and fees for eligible GSRs, depending on the amount of tuition and fees assessed by the campus. |
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Health Benefits |
Eligible GSRs may participate in a UC-sponsored student health plan to the same degree as other eligible students at that campus. Eligible GSRs with 25 percent or more appointments to receive full remission of monthly premium for a UC-sponsored student health plan. |
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Parking & Transit |
UAW members who are students able to participate in transit and parking-related services on the same basis as other employees; eight of UC’s 10 campuses offer some form of student transit subsidy. |
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Leaves |
Expanded benefit of 8 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave (up from 6 weeks) and five weeks of paid baby bonding, personal medical, and family medical leave (up from 4 weeks). In addition, 12 days of paid Personal Time Off (PTO) is a new paid time off benefit for GSRs. |