CUE — NEWS

◊ N E W S ◊

**BARGAINING UPDATES**
	FLASH! CUE's bargaining team has agreed to allow participation in the Staywell Program. Participation is optional. 12/22/08
	Mary Higgins recounts recent CUE-UC bargaining sessions. There has been no progress on salaries, with the University refusing to make a serious offer. AFSCME's service unit has been offered some across-the-board money. CUE is furious because the service unit's increases are normally tied to the state budget. CUE workers should be offered comparable compensation. Recent bargaining has concentrated on Respectful Fair Treatment and Performance Evaluations. Statewide testimony describes "bullyism" in the workplace. While some of these accounts are shocking, UC seems uninterested in writing anti-bully language into the contract, so we may make it part of the campaign. We are discussing how to strengthen the "Respectful Fair Treatment" article on other non-bullying issues. Also, we want to strengthen our right to challenge statements made on performance evaluations. We would like a procedure for negative comments to be removed after a defined time period. Now, they remain in the file forever. Regarding pension contributions, CEO Mark Laret told Medical Center employees that he expects the the employer (UC) to begin contributing 4% on July first, 2009. We suspect that for the first year, UC will only ask employees to redirect their DCP money. CUE will oppose any employee contribution until salaries are brought up to market. Bargaining is expected to drag on, so we must gear up our campaign. The Regents will be at Mission Bay March 18-20 2009. You can volunteer to distribute materials. If you are eager to speed up the contract process, call the Local 6 office (346-3537) and ask to help. Together we can succeed. We are initiating CUE Shirt Fridays, when everyone will wear their shirts. If you don't have one, they will be available by the beginning of January. Those who cannot wear shirts due to department dress codes should request a button. If you have more ideas for spreading the word, let us know.
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CONTRACT ISSUES
Contract negotiations between CUE and the University are continuing. The CUE/UC contract, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), expired midnight September 30, 2008. CUE negotiated a limited extension proposal with the University, which expired on October 30^th. We are now in Status Quo. We will forward new information as negotiations on the extension and the contract articles continue. We have also scheduled the following dates for future bargaining sessions:
October 27-29, 2008, at Glendale (local office of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services) November 19-21, 2008, at UCOP, Oakland December 3-5, 2008, at UCOP, Oakland December 17-19, 2008, at UC Riverside
10/26/08

**MEDICAL CENTER SALARY ADJUSTMENTS**
The Medical Center routinely performs salary surveys of their staff relative to the competition. An extensive survey occurs every two years. At the conclusion, Medical Center Administration adjusts salaries, if they are not competitive. The CUE/UC contract allows for these one-time "equity" adjustments, which are not negotiated. Officials at UCSF Medical Center notified CUE Local 6 of proposed adjustments, calculated on the basis of length of service. Many long-time employees were at salary levels lower than more recently hired employees. The adjustment is based on a formula and nothing else. CUE agreed to the increases when we were notified. Also, we immediately asked the Campus to perform a review, using the same criteria for campus-based employees. There has been no formal response to date. Since their funding sources differ, we are not optimistic of receiving a favorable reply. Meanwhile, CUE continues to negotiate for an October 1, 2008 across-the-board salary increase. We are aware that the Medical Center adjustments are a sensitive subject. While we are concerned about the unfairness of the situation, we did not want to withhold increases for approximately 600 of the workers under our jurisdiction. CUE will continue to fight for all of our members. 10/2/08
N O T I C E Pay checks for October 15 should include equity increases. If you believe your adjustment is incorrect, please report it to CUE. UCSF's methodology for calculating the adjustments posted at Tables and Explanation link. Retroactive amounts will be issued on a separate check, "in order to reduce the tax burden." Payroll's target date for those is October 31, but that is not definite. If a date is confirmed, we will post it here. 10/9/08

**Pensive about UC Pensions**
UC's Pension Fiasco San Diego Union on reviving UC pension contribution East Bay Express What ever happened to the Pension Surplus? SF Chronicle with more on PensionGate. 10/1/08

START2 approved for CUE members

U P D A T E

CUE Bargaining Team and CUE Statewide Executive Board, August 1, 2008

CUE and UC reached agreement on CX unit (Clerical and Allied Services — employees represented by CUE) participation in the START Program on July 28, 2008. The earliest possible date for CX employees to begin their START contract is August 1, 2008. The START contract with clarifications of certain program features and PRO AND CON statements are posted at the CUE statewide web site.

All CX employees interested in the program should download and print out the contract then forward the completed contract to her/his department HR representative to enroll in the START Program. Please be advised participation in this program is contingent upon your department's approval of the START program.
CUE Statewide Executive Board and Bargaining Team, July 17, 2008.
CUE authorizes START2 participation. The sign-up date was extended for eligible CX unit members at departments participating in the program.

Reservations about START to help you decide.

Click for full text of bargaining report.

	CUE STATEWIDE WEB SITE
	Lakesha Harrison on UC poverty UCLA
	AFSCME recent news