Non-tenured faculty planning UC walkout

LOS ANGELES >> Non-tenured professors, lecturers and some other faculty members at the nine University of California campuses are planning a walkout today and Thursday in a dispute over several labor issues that has lasted more than two years.

The University CouncilAmerican Federation of Teachers says it has filed seven unfair labor practice charges with the California Public Employees Relations Board over the last 20 months. They accuse UC President Michael Drake’s administration of failing to bargain in good faith over a handful of issues, including a paid family leave policy.

The UC-AFT represents lecturers and adjunct professors hired on a yearly or quarterly basis, as well as librarians.

According to the union, the UC’s family leave policy would provide eight weeks of paid leave for some employees to care for a seriously ill family member or bond with a new child. But the eligibility threshold excludes thousands of lecturers, the majority of whom teach part-time and are more likely to be women and caregivers, the union says.

The union claims UC management initially said the new program was subject to collective bargaining, but later declared that they would not negotiate. Other issues include:

• Additional compensation for online instruction and teaching supplies.

• Settlement terms after improperly withholding employer retirement contributions.

• The impacts of COVID conditions on K-12 teachers represented by UC-AFT.

The walkout may affect UCLA and UC Irvine classes. “The University of California is disappointed with UC-AFT’s decision to pursue a two-day strike — withholding instruction is grossly unfair to our students and a strike does not move us closer to a contract,” according to a statement from the UC. “The union’s unfair labor practice claims against UC are neither supported by the facts nor any finding by the California Public Employment Relations Board.”

According to the UC, university negotiators presented union leaders with a “comprehensive proposal” on Oct. 11 that included substantial pay increases, an enhanced appointment system with more stability for lecturers, evaluations for pre-six lecturers at the end of each appointment term, greater transparency in job expectations and mechanisms for addressing workload concerns.