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UAW 2865

UAW Local 2865 - 19,000 Student workers strong

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UAW2865

UAW 2865 and UC meet in Day 1 of Public Employee Relations Board Hearing

December 2, 2020 By UAW2865

Oakland, CA – UAW 2865, the union that represents more than 19,000 academic workers at the University of California, faced off with University of California administrators in a hearing Tuesday, December 1, at California’s Public Employment Relations Board at 10am. At issue are what the union alleges were the university’s illegal actions to circumvent their collective bargaining relationship. After astronomical increases in the cost of living for academic workers and a lack of regulations in California’s housing market, the university failed to address the cost of living crisis for academic workers, and a wildcat strike at UC Santa Cruz ensued. In an attempt to resolve its dispute with wildcat strikers, the university met directly with workers and with a third party, bypassing the union and offering workers inadequate housing stipends that were outside the guarantee of the union contract. 

“The university’s actions in response to the strike grossly violated the rights of their workers by disrespecting their democratically elected representative – the union,” said Kavitha Iyengar, President of UAW 2865. “As union members, we must hold the university accountable for the hostile actions they took against our union, and that means demonstrating that the university must bargain with the union over issues related to housing.”

The hearing represents a continuation of the fallout from the wildcat strike. Earlier this summer, after marathon negotiations and pressure from thousands of members of UAW 2865, the university agreed to rehire 54 workers who were fired in the spring for their role in the wildcat strike. 

The current conflict is the latest struggle for better working conditions for academic workers, a fight that has become more urgent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Improving our living conditions has always been a struggle for ASEs, but with remote learning at UC, our living conditions are literally our working conditions, and they are our students’ learning conditions,” said Gaby Barrios, the union’s Sergeant-at-Arms. “We will keep fighting to hold UC accountable to its workers and students, and to win high quality benefits, but we can only do this by taking mass collective action. That’s how we got our co-workers their jobs back this summer and that’s how we’ll win a more equitable university.”

Filed Under: Anti-Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence

UAW 2865/5810 Union Organizer Training Program

November 25, 2020 By UAW2865

UAW 2865 (the Union of TAs, Readers, and Tutors) and UAW 5810 (the Union of Postdocs and Academic Researchers) are hiring temporary paid organizers to build union membership and participation in preparation for upcoming contract negotiations with UC. These are four-week positions at 15-20 hours per week (20 hours preferred), starting on Tuesday, January 19th. 

UAW 2865 and UAW 5810 are looking for applicants who are passionate about social justice, detail oriented, committed to public higher education, and willing to have conversations about the importance of union membership and participation with academic workers from diverse backgrounds. No prior union experience is necessary. 

This hands-on training program will include regular coaching by experienced union organizers. Organizers will learn how to:

  • Sign up new members in union orientations and answer questions about benefits, rights, and protections in the union contract
  • Conduct one-to-one organizing conversations over zoom and the phone, with a focus on building union capacity for mass collective actions such as majority-participation strike votes and strikes
  • Identify and develop new union leaders
  • Utilize and maintain membership lists

In the midst of a global pandemic and threats of austerity, academic workers need to participate in their unions now more than ever. Apply to be a union organizer today! Send a resume and brief cover letter to organize@uaw2865.org. Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis, but no later than December 11, 2020. Organizers will receive a salary of $2,038.77 to $2,718.36 over four weeks depending on the number of hours per week. 

International students, women, people of color, LGBTQIA are all encouraged to apply. People who participate in this program may be considered for future organizer employment opportunities where needed.

Filed Under: Anti-Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence

UAW 2865 October 2020 Vacancy Election Results

October 20, 2020 By UAW2865

The October 2020 vacancy election for the statewide Executive Board position of Sergeant-at-Arms and campus Joint Council positions took place October 15th and 16th. 1403 members participated in this election. The vote totals are below, with the winners of each race indicated with an asterisk (*).

Executive Board

Sergeant-at-Arms:
*Gaby Barrios (UC-Los Angeles, Spanish and Portugese) 849
Tony Boardman (UC-Santa Cruz, Literature) 517

Campus Joint Council Positions

Berkeley Head Stewards (4)
*Rohit Krishnan (History) 250
*Tania Osorio Harp (Architecture) 268
*Gregory Ottino (Physics) 255
*Haden Smiley (Music) 247
Zachary Hicks (Slavic Languages and Literature) 103

Davis Head Stewards (3)
*Hannah Kempf (Earth and Planetary Sciences) 80
*Jeremy Rud (Linguistics) 96
*Galen Yun (Law) 89
Mark Samuel Abbott (Physics and Astronomy) 77

Irvine Head Stewards (1)
*Mustafa I. Hussain (Informatics) 95
Samiha Khalil (Culture & Theory) 62

Thanks to all those who voted, and congratulations to our newly elected officers!

Filed Under: Anti-Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence

UAW 2865 MEMBERS WIN TUITION AND HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM REMISSION FOR GRAD INSTRUCTORS IN BERKELEY’S ONLINE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM

September 17, 2020 By UAW2865

Berkeley, CA – UAW 2865, the union that represents more than 19,000 Academic Student Employees at the University of California, announced today that all Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) teaching in the Online or On-Campus Masters of Public Health (OOMPH) program at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health will receive tuition remission and health care coverage beginning this Fall term. UC Berkeley had previously denied those benefits to these GSIs, even though they are specifically guaranteed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed by UAW 2865 and UC.

“This victory shows that when we stand together and fight, we win,” said Andrea Jacobo, a current OOMPH GSI and UAW 2865 steward for the Public Health department. “This agreement requires UC Berkeley to appoint the online public health program GSIs at percentages that ensure they all receive tuition, health insurance premium remission, and childcare benefits moving forward.” 

Last fall, the OOMPH program appointed some GSIs at 25% Full-Time Equivalent without providing health insurance premium remission and tuition remission, as required by the UAW 2865 contract. The GSIs were told that because the courses they teach are 8 weeks long, they must teach 2 online courses consecutively, or seek extra positions outside OOMPH, to qualify for these benefits. OOMPH GSIs are responsible for a comparable amount of content and grading as on-campus GSIs, but they were not provided with equal benefits.

UAW 2865 argued this practice constituted a violation of the union contract, and that the denial of benefits created an environment where GSIs feel pressure to take on extra work without equal benefits. A delegation of Public Health union members delivered a petition signed by nearly 150 graduate students to SPH Dean Michael Lu demanding that the school provide all OOMPH GSIs with tuition remission and health insurance premium remission and to ensure that all other GSIs are given the same benefits going forward.

Yesterday, both parties signed an agreement securing those rights.

“This victory is a credit to the strength and resolve of union members and allies who mobilized to right this wrong,” said Angela-Maithy Nguyen, a current OOMPH GSI involved in the union grievance filing. “We are proud to have corrected this issue and so that hardworking GSIs can access the tuition remission and health care benefits we need.”

Filed Under: Health and Safety, Wages and fair pay Tagged With: News

Monthly Executive Board Meeting 8/23

August 22, 2020 By UAW2865

The UAW 2865 Monthly Eboard meeting will take place this Sunday. Here is a link to the agenda with the call in information. Every member in good standing can attend! 

Filed Under: Anti-Sexual Harassment/Sexual Violence

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