Edhat Staff
(Photo: John Palminteri of KEYT News)
A three-day strike began Monday for all University of California service and patient care technical workers.
University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union couldn’t reach a contract agreement resulting in over 50,000 workers to protest throughout California. Classes at UCSB are expected to continue as regularly scheduled.
University of California workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 voted last month to authorize a systemwide strike, with 97 percent voting yes.
AFSCME’s feels there is a growing inequality within the UC workforce including racial and ethnic diversity, employment of women and income gaps between administrators and workers. According to Local 3299’s recently released report, the number of black workers in the UC workforce has declined by 37 percent since 1996.
“When a taxpayer-funded university – whose operations in California are larger than Walmart’s are in this state – fails to meet standards of fairness and equality, it’s our duty and responsibility as Californians to hold them accountable,” said Kathryn Lybarger, lead gardener at UC Berkeley and president of AFSCME Local 3299. “Whether by withholding participation in planned UC events, or joining us on picket lines, we’re calling for elected representatives across California to take a stand against injustice and honor our struggle.”
The union claims they are fed up with stalled contract negotiations and “post-impasse mediation procedures” that failed to yield an agreement.
“We’ve negotiated in good faith with UC for over a year now,” said Oscar Rubio, a UCLA food service worker and vice president of AFSCME Local 3299’s Service Unit. “Instead of working with us to address issues of widening inequality and outsourcing, UC’s administrators are pushing proposals that will only make things worse.”
The union is asking for a multi-year contract with annual wage increases of 6% with no increases in monthly healthcare premiums and a continued retirement age of 60 for full pension benefits. The University of California is offering a 3% wage increase over four years, a $25 dollar cap on monthly healthcare premiums and raising the retirement age to 65 for new employees, reports KEYT.
The strike is scheduled to end on May 9th.
What do taxpayers pay the UC workers quoted in this article: Kathryn Lybarger
PHYS PLT LABORER GARDENER LD
Regular pay:$69,581.00
Overtime pay:$0.00
Other pay:$0.00
Total pay:$69,581.00
Total benefits:$26,261.00
Total pay & benefits:$95,842.00
Gauchos and their parents respond: we will remember your threat to strike when tuition hikes are announced to cover these demands.
That’s what happens when you work for the government too long; they start thinking they’re making some great sacrifice and they can do so much better elsewhere.
When was the last time any business around here had a strike over healthcare caps and increases in wages above the cost of living index? They can walk and keep walking; no new taxes.
Janus vs AFSCME is now pending before the US Supreme Court – the UC employee unions may finally lose their iron grip to demand mandatory dues for anyone wanting to work at UC. About $1000 a year union membership dues per worker (your tax dollars) goes directly to the AFSCME union bosses. Taxpayers are funding these AFSCME jobs of those quoted in this article at $88K-$100K a year. How unfair is that?
The salaries bandied about here as being allegedly greedy and excessive are what it takes to maintain a middle class existence in most of CA. The idea that working people should suffer in some sort of serf like relationship while the uber wealthy take in millions of tax benefited money is distorted. The attack on unions is the capitalist owners attempt to under pay those working people whom they need inside the US. They have already accomplished this by exporting what work they can to places that have no protection for workers (or the environment by the way). Best wishes for success. (And it should be noted that the excessive salary issue is much more relevant to the money being paid to the administrators and coaches than to the working folks).
These personal disclosures and attacks are petty. Let’s speak to the issue and respect privacy. Or perhaps you can share with us your own income and finances?
UC employees make great salaries, have great benefits, and receive great pensions. That’s both unsustainable for the UC (and California taxpayers) and out of line with prevailing wages.
When UC employees demand budget cuts to enable their higher wages I’ll be the first to march with them and lead the chants: Keep the budget flat…reduce waste, reduce admin compensation, and maintain existing tuition rates!
Government workers are paid plenty. Their unions decide how this money gets allocated between take-home pay and privileged benefits and union dues that are not available to non-government employees. These union employees need to demand a better allocation of the already generous payments they get from state and local taxpayers. It is not longer our problem – the problem exists now entirely within the relationship between the union bosses and their union rank and file members. Trying to turn this and ersatz class warfare issue no longer sounds in fact. Government employees now belong to the 1% when it comes to their total compensation. You can no longer cry poor and abused. No one is buying that line any longer.
Public compensation is public knowledge. These public facts have been kept hidden for too long and have allowed for the massive and unrelenting fiscal mismanagement we now find in this state. When choosing to work for public tax-payer funded institutions a primary requirement is public transparency and accountability. We the people must know what we are paying our own employees. Particularly when those same employees threaten strikes and disruptions to the social order that we have been paying for. You used to send us bills after the fact. Now we have finally learned what those bills will cost us and future generations. it is not a pretty picture at all But it happened under the cover of darkness, No more. Privacy and pettiness are the wrong arguments to make when you in turn demand we pay you whatever you want, sight unseen . A critical mass backlash is opposed to writing blank checks for higher education and getting so little in return. Make a better argument than maintaining the prevailing secrecy and endless demands for more of our own tax dollars.
How much to taxpayer pay Oscar Rubio: Oscar Leonel Rubio at UCLA
FOOD SVC WORKER
Regular pay:$41,615.00
Overtime pay:$652.00
Other pay:$0.00
Total pay:$42,267.00
Total benefits:$27,780.00
Total pay & benefits:$70,047.00
If you are using your tax dollars to hire and pay me, you have right to know what that full amount is and where any future promsied compensation money will be coming from.
What nonsense. Just because someone works for the public they do not have to give up reasonable expectations of privacy that you, apparently, will not part with. Please disclose your income and your retirement resources and then we can see if you put your beliefs where your mouth is or if you are just another bully.
It is highly unlikely that public funds have no role in providing you with your income. You just choose to differentiate between tax dodges and subsidized private sector work and public employees. This is because you apparently want to feel you have some skill greater than that of those you denigrate. But these people are performing a public service for reasons other than greed which motivates most private sector work. It is not just about “winning” and who dies with the most stuff.+