UC Service Workers Approve Historic Agreement
February 16, 2009
IN SOLIDARITY – Delegates to AFSCME’s 38th International Convention, held last summer in San Francisco, rally to support University of California employees – members of Local 3299 – who were then fighting to win fair contracts. (Photo credit: Jim West)
February 16, 2009
Some 8,500 University of California service workers – members of AFSCME Local 3299 – will see their wages rise by 16 percent over five years under a new agreement ratified this month after a year-and-a-half of tough bargaining.
The historic contract covers custodians, gardeners, food service workers and drivers for the 10-campus system. Through demonstrations, sit-ins and even some arrests, they let UC administrators know that they deserved to be treated with respect.
“This is truly a historic day,” says Local 3299 Pres. Lakesha Harrison. “We have gone on strike, held informational pickets, lobbied, ran television commercials and many other things that were key to getting UC executives to do the right thing and readjust their priorities from executives to the lowest paid workers at UC.”
Harrison praised many elected state officials for their support, including Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (D), Sen. Leland Yee (D) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D). She also credited AFSCME International.
“The International union provided substantial financial resources and leveraged its political power to sway influential figures in the state legislature and on the national stage, including former President Bill Clinton, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Lt. Gov. John Garamendi (D) and actor Danny Glover.”
In addition to wage hikes (4 percent in the first year, followed by four annual 3 percent raises), seniority is rewarded through an additional 6 percent in step increases for eligible employees, bringing the five-year total to a maximum of 22 percent. The agreement also includes a first-time statewide minimum wage for their job classifications, reaching $14 an hour by the end of the contract.
“For years, we have been struggling to make ends meet each month on UC’s low wages,” says UC Berkeley gardener Kathryn Lybarger. “Finally, UC executives have recognized their moral responsibility to provide a wage increase that will start to lift us and our families out of poverty, and provide better jobs in our communities.”
This victory is the second for UC employees. Last fall, 11,500 patient care workers – also members of Local 3299 – overwhelmingly ratified their own five-year contract. Retroactive to October 2007, it raises wages an average of 4 percent annually and achieves many other hard-fought goals.
Read more about the UC patient care victory in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News and UCLA’s Daily Bruin.
