In this bargaining update:
- The university accepted Mayor Darrell Steinberg as our mediator
- Mayor Jesse Arreguín has written a letter urging the University to come to a fair deal
- PERB will hear our ULP charge on the standard timeline
Yesterday, the university finally agreed to move forward with Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento, as the mediator in our negotiations. Mayor Steinberg is experienced with labor law, previously serving as an employee rights lawyer for ten years, and has worked as a mediator in many labor disputes including our own statewide contract negotiation mediation. In our meeting with Mayor Steinberg last week, he demonstrated an excellent understanding of the issues at hand, and we are hopeful that, as a mediator, he can help us come to a fair agreement with the university. At his request, we are currently working to provide him with an analysis of various potential staffing scenarios so he can make an informed comparison. We hope to begin mediation sometime next week.
Mediation is a new stage of bargaining where, instead of negotiating directly with the university, we discuss our proposals with a mediator who goes back and forth between the two parties and works to bring us to a mutually acceptable agreement. We don’t know exactly what the format of mediation will look like yet, as Mayor Steinberg’s preferences will determine that in large part. Whatever the format may be, we remain committed to being as transparent as possible with the bargaining process, and continue to welcome the input of all ASEs affected by these negotiations.
In other good news, Berkeley’s mayor Jesse Arreguín sent a letter yesterday to UC Berkeley administrators urging them to come to a fair agreement with us over staffing. Mayor Arreguín writes, “I am concerned that the University has proposed completely eliminating fee remission for the vast majority of undergraduate EECS and Data TAs, cutting their wages by 51% compared to the current union contract, and a non-binding pledge to increase staffing… As California’s premier public university, UC Berkeley has not only the opportunity but the obligation to be a leader in setting adequate working standards for academic workers and providing high quality education to its students.” This letter will be hand-delivered to Chancellor Carol Christ. Coming less than a week after Senator Nancy Skinner’s letter of support, we hope that this letter pressures the university to come to a fair deal in a timely manner.
The California Public Employees Relation Board (PERB) continues to process our unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against the university. PERB has declined to review the charge on an expedited timeline, so our ULP will be processed according to the standard timeline.
We will keep you updated as we schedule mediation sessions. Wishing you all a restful last week of instruction!
In solidarity,
Dahlia Saba
EECS 16A uGSI