We represent our interests with respect to the University by negotiating a contract that sets out the pay and benefits, and the rights and protections of every Academic Student Employee (ASE) that works at the University of California.
We also represent our interests by enforcing the contract, meaning we work together to make sure the terms of the contract are upheld. If any part of the contract is violated we have a way of fighting for and preserving our rights through a fair grievance procedure. If you have a concern, problem, or question about any aspect of your work, you are advised to contact the Union immediately before trying to resolve the issue so that you get the best possible advice and are sure to preserve your rights. One of the Union’s primary functions is enforcing what we won in the contract, which means representing ASEs at all steps of the grievance procedure, including informal discussions. If anyone is treated unfairly, we work with them to remedy the situation and make sure their rights are being protected. Learn more about the following key rights in our 2007-2009 contract:
Below are some additional references for you regarding our rights and our Contract. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your campus Union office.
APPOINTMENT NOTIFICATION and SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTATION
Have you received your written appointment notification and supplemental documentation yet? If it’s 30 days before the start of your appointment, you should have received this already.
Your appointment notification is your guarantee of a job.
For TA titles it should include your job title, appointment percentage (or range of hours), dates of employment, salary/wages, health and other applicable benefits or deductions, hiring unit and hiring unit contact (in most cases your department), response requirements if any, a statement that the position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement between our union and the university, the website address for our contract, and the time and place of any applicable ASE orientations.
For reader and tutor titles it should include your job title, appointment percentage (or range of hours), dates of employment, salary/wages, health and other applicable benefits or deductions, hiring unit, hiring unit contact, response requirements if any, a statement that the position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement between our union and the university, the website address for our contract, and the time and place of any applicable ASE orientations. The notice shall also include the following: faculty member or supervisor to whom you will report if known; the location where the work will be performed if known; the class assigned if applicable; the departmental reader/tutor pay formula; a description of required duties; and it may include estimated time for effective completion of each duty.
Your supplemental documentation outlines the requirements of your position.
For reader and tutor titles this is included with your appointment notification (see above).
For TA titles this includes the faculty member or supervisor to whom you will report; the location where the work will be performed if known; the class assigned if applicable; description of the required duties; departmental policy on class, section and/or lab size where it exists; and it may include estimated time for effective completion of each duty.
In addition to winning more timely appointment notification and information about our job in our most recent contract negotiations, our current contract now includes a uniform supplemental documentation/description of duties form. This form is Appendix C of our contract and is available online as well. Check it out, compare it to what you’ve received, and contact your campus’ union office if there are any discrepancies.
If you are asked to return your appointment notification or supplemental documentation, keep a copy for your records. If you haven’t received these documents and the 30-day timeline has passed, or if either of the documents don’t include the required information, contact your campus’ union office right away.
A note on workload:
If during the course of the quarter or semester, you anticipate exceeding the maximum hours for your appointment percentage, you should raise this with your supervisor. Possible remedies include a reduction or modification of your assigned duties or an increase in your appointment percentage and compensation. If your appointment is modified in any way, make sure you receive a new appointment-notification document which reflects all changes.
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EMPLOYMENT FILES and EVALUATIONS
If you’re working as a TA, Reader or Tutor, you have what’s known as an “employment file.” This file is where the University keeps any/all written material regarding your work, including evaluative material.
Regardless of what material University administrators put in your employment file, you have a right to know what is in it.
That’s why the union’s bargaining committee fought for and won a key new right in our newest contract: You now have the right to be notified of any material added to your file once per term. Furthermore, you have the right to access and review the contents of your employment file and any attached employment evaluations at any time.
These are important rights because it gives all of us more control over our employment histories, how our work is portrayed, and the right of review. That puts all of us in a stronger position to apply for other jobs at UC and for jobs after we leave UC.
If you haven't done so already, you should request to see your employment files. If you do not receive notice of new material at least once per term, contact your campus’ union office.
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LEAVES
Our new contract guarantees one of the most comprehensive leaves package available to any group of ASEs in the nation.
Salaried ASEs appointed at 50% time shall receive two days of paid short-term family-related leave per quarter or three days per semester (the number of days of leave for which an ASE is eligible is prorated for percentage appointments other than 50%) which can be used for illness, disability or family emergency. Salaried ASEs are also eligible up to four weeks of paid leave for childbearing or up to two weeks for serious illness of an ASE or an ASE’s family member or to care for and bond with an ASE’s newborn or newly adopted child. Unused short-term leaves may be combined with long-term leaves where necessary to increase the amount of time that an ASE may be on leave. Bereavement leave shall also be paid for up to three days per occurrence.
Unsalaried ASEs are eligible for these same leaves, however, they are unpaid.
In addition to the leaves we won during negotiations, “family member” is defined broadly to include an employee’s mother, father, sister, brother, parent-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, parent of domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, child, step or foster child (including children of domestic partner).
Rights retained in our contract include leaves for military service, jury duty, and other leaves at the discretion of the university and as required by law.
If you need to request a leave:
In order to ensure proper coverage for short-term leaves, you are expected to contact your supervisor to request leave as soon as the need for the leave becomes known but not less than one working day before you must go on leave unless it’s an unanticipated personal or family illness, or bereavement. Requests for leave shall be made in writing with information about the nature of the leave and how long it is likely to last. You may be requested to provide additional documentation, and should do so if you are able. It is the university’s responsibility to make arrangements for coverage, but reasonable requests can be made of you to help with this.
For help requesting a leave, or if your request for leave is not honored by your department/hiring unit, contact your campus’ union office as soon as possible.
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NON-DISCRIMINATION
As many of you are probably aware, federal non-discrimination law is way behind the times. As our contract was being ratified in October 2007, Congress was fiercely divided over whether to pass a law protecting employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Yes. That’s right. There is currently no federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their sexual orientation.
In order to address these holes in federal and state non-discrimination protections, the union has negotiated anti-discrimination protections that go above and beyond current laws. Specifically, it is your right not to be discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, HIV status, status as a covered veteran, age, citizenship, political affiliation, union activity, and membership or non-membership in the union.
Pregnancy and gender identity—defined as a gender-related identity, self-image, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, whether actual or perceived, and with or without regard to the sex designated or assigned to the individual at birth—are protections which we won during our most recent round of negotiations.
These rights not only provide protection against a broad variety of discrimination for individual ASEs, but they also put our union at the forefront of expanding and challenging civil rights. If you are discriminated against on the basis of any of the above criteria, or if you experience any sexual harassment in the workplace, contact your campus’ union office.
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POSTING
Departmental Websites – Hiring Policies
All known hiring policies and job allocation procedures will now be posted on departmental websites. This will enable you to know how departments hire employees in advance so that you can maximize the likelihood of getting a job, and it will also make the hiring process more transparent and less susceptible to arbitrary decision-making and favoritism. If you know that your department or hiring unit has a hiring or job allocation policy and this policy is not posted on the departmental website as of January 1st, 2008, contact your local union office.
Campus Websites – Job Openings
By March 15th of each year, the University starts posting job opening for the next academic year on campus web sites. Click here if you are seeking an ASE job on your campus
Systemwide Website – Information Regarding Last Year’s Classes
By October 1st of each year, the University will post the following information about
courses where ASEs were employed in the previous academic year:
a. Campus
b. Course title
c. Course number
d. Brief description of the course
e. Number of sections attached to the course
f. Student enrollment for each section
g. Number of TAs, by title, attached to each lecture, discussion, lab, seminar, etc.
Last year’s information will help you know what you are in for this year. This website has yet to be established. We will notify you when it becomes active.
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WORKLOAD
Whenever we work as TAs, Readers or Tutors, Academic Student Employees wear lots of different hats. We work part time. We study. We do research. We care for sick family members. We raise kids.
And so on.
The fact that many of us have so much on our plates is one of the key reasons we have strong workload protections in our contract. If you receive a 50% time, 20 hours per week job you can reasonably expect to work an average of 20 hours per week. If you’re asked to
- work more than 8 hours per day, or
- work more than an average of 20 hours per week, or
- work more than 40 hours in any one week, or
- work more than a total of 220 hours per quarter (or 340 per semester)
your workload rights are being violated.
If you have something other than a 50% time appointment, points 1 and 4 above apply to you and the quarter/semester maximum is applied proportionally. Information regarding your appointment level should be included in your appointment notification.
Being overworked is not good for anyone. It means
- you’re working for free;
- you’re spending time performing job duties instead of your research, your studying, your dissertation, your qualifying examination prep, or any number of other things for which you would like to budget your time;
- you won’t be able to provide the high quality of education you want to provide if you are over-extended;
- the Governor gets away with under-funding the UC. Governor Schwarzenegger is on the attack when it comes to funding for the University of California. Fees keep going up, but less money is being allocated to educate undergraduates. When we agree to work for free, we inadvertently send the signal to Sacramento that it’s ok to cut funding for higher education, because the work will get done regardless of whether UC receives sufficient funding or not.
So, do yourself, your students and UC a favor: track your workload with this form. By tracking your workload closely, you can determine whether you are working over the following limits, and can seek redress. That helps you graduate faster, helps students receive high quality education, and it helps put the “right price tag” on educating the next generation of Californians.
You should notify your supervisor immediately if you foresee any problems with your workload. Workload grievances are subject to an expedited process with the following solutions:
- Your appointment percentage will be increased to be consistent with the number of hours you will work, and/or
- Your work assignment will be modified such that the number of hours worked will be consistent with your appointment percentage and workload limits.
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