After eight (8) months of negotiations, CUE Local 10 has received notice of two (2) signed tentative agreements. Tentative Agreements (TA’s) are valid only when negotiations have been completed. Below is a summary of the changes made to those contract Articles and Sections changed by the TA’s.

The two TA’s are:

A.1: New language will allow for any class, training or career development program related to the employee’s job or any other University position. The University retains the unilateral right to determine whether or not the class, training or development program is job or University related.

A.8: New language adds: Forty (40) training hours will be allowed, an increase from the current twenty-four (24). In addition, a variable time employee’s yearly entitlement shall be prorated based on the average monthly hours worked in the previous six months.

A.8.a: New language adds: An employee may be required to submit proof that s/he utilized the paid release time for the class, training, or career development program.

A.8.b: In summary, the new language added here says that if the University denies training/development based on operational considerations, you can submit a written request to carry over the requested unused hours and any such carried over hours that are approved must be used by the end of the following calendar year.

Local 10 Analysis: Clearly, the increase in the total number of training/development hours is a good thing. The new language expands the potential universe of the kinds of classes and training a worker may participate in that qualifies for training and development. On the other hand, the University can still deny participation in it. Ultimately, the worker could, if denied for operational considerations, hold on to those hours and use them again. Finally, what’s lost is the ability to roll over unused Training and Development hours from year to year. Under the old language, workers could over 16 hours from 2006 and 2007, and 24 hours from 2007 and 2008.

Conclusion: A minor gain (in total number of training hours). There is a broader approach to the kinds of classes that can be taken and recognition that if and where a worker is denied, again based solely on operational considerations, they don’t just lose the hours. A significant loss, however, pertains to the (currently allowed) rollover of unused hours. With the new language, no rollover of training hours is permitted. In Local 10’s pre-negotiations survey, only a couple of workers expressed a desire to increase the number of Training & Development hours. Union staff sometimes hears from CUE workers that being able to rollover unused hours is a priority for them. That ability was lost under this tentative agreement.

A.3.a: New language added saying that if and where uniform programs already exist, the University has sole discretion to maintain such programs.

A.3.c: New language says when a new uniform requirement is implemented, the University shall either provide the uniform or provide a uniform allowance where the worker is required to purchase it him or herself.

A.3.d: New language provides for at least a thirty day notice to CUE (prior to implementing uniforms). Following that, and upon written request from CUE, a committee, (including a CUE employee in the affected department and one additional CUE campus representative,) will be assembled in the department seeking to implement the uniform requirement. The committee exists to advise the University about the number of uniforms to be provided, laundering and replacement uniforms.

Local 10 Analysis: While it could be an advantage to have the new language in A.3.d, specificity about the uniform allowance is lacking. It’s unclear what the financial allowance would be, how the worker will be paid the allowance and other guidelines. Leaving that all up to a future departmental committee opens the door to lack of consistency and fairness in applying the uniform policy to all workers in all departments.

Conclusion: The new language in this article appears to be focused on dress codes without ever saying so. The greatest downside of the language is allowing each department to do what it wants on a committee basis, with no oversight or consistent application of uniforms, or dress codes, to issues that affect workers most: the cost of laundering, what kind of uniform has to be worn, how many uniforms the University will provide, what the consequences are of not wearing the uniform due to laundering. It’s unclear whether the committee actually has any authority. In our Local 10 pre-negotiations surveys, not a single CUE worker mentioned concerns about uniforms. Since then, some workers became concerned about the possibility of departmental dress codes – this new language will hardly address those concerns.

The contract is expired, effective October 30.

Next Bargaining Dates:

November 19,20,21 - Oakland/Berkeley
December 3,4,5 - Oakland
December 17,18,19 - Riverside