The University of California has tentatively given into union’s demands to raise salaries by at least 20 percent or more over four years for union staff members. The timing is precarious since the union recently blamed hefty salaries for high tuition costs.
The University Professional and Technical Employee-Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA), which includes UC research, healthcare, and technical professionals, is looking forward to their new five-year agreement contracts ratified on August 8. Healthcare professionals will see a 20 percent increase in pay, and research professionals will receive a 22 percent pay raise.
The new contract will also provide a pay raise, extra health benefits, and more retirement benefits for about 13,000 UC staff members.
UPTE has been pushing for this raise for more than two years and even went on strike five different times. A report showed a significant difference in salaries between the top 10 percent of UC staff and the bottom 50 percent.
UC Santa Cruz’s Chancellor makes $425,000, and UCLA’s Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs makes $350,000, according to the Register. The union complains that the high salaries are a cause of the tuition hikes while advocating for the staff pay raises previously mentioned.
“We are very pleased to have reached these agreements with UPTE, giving our employees the competitive pay and excellent benefits they so deserve,” said Peter Chester, the UC system’s executive director of labor relations.
UPTE President Jamie McDonald cited increasing costs of living in California as justification for initiating the raise.
According to the Los Angeles Times, as a result of the raise, UC tuition will rise 2.6 percent for out-of-state students for the fifth year in a row. UC President Janet Napolitano said, “Without this, we add another $30-million hole, and that will have an impact on the education programs we can provide,” according to the Times of San Diego.
