Victory for UC Custodians!

May 24, 2007

For nearly 18 months, custodians at the 10 campuses of the University of California (UC) fought for better wages and putting an end to the outsourcing of groundskeepers. This week they won!

UC and Local 3299 members reached a settlement that includes a $1.75/hour wage increase for custodians at UC Berkeley, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz as well as a $0.50/hour raise for all other UC custodians. In addition, formerly outsourced groundskeepers will be brought on as full UC employees effective July 1, 2007.

As UC Santa Cruz custodian Rosario Cruz says: “This is an important first step in having the university address the issue of sustainable and market rate wages for all their employees.”

The agreement was based on the recommendations of former state Senate Pres. Pro Tem John Burton, who mediated between both parties. It was the culmination of a struggle that generated local and national news coverage. During the battle, former U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton and Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards boycotted the university campuses and actor/activist Danny Glover cancelled his UC graduation appearance. Students also showed their support by protesting over the way UC management treats its workers and the administration’s intransigence during negotiations. (TV news coverage of a recent rally at UC Berkeley is available at KTVU.com.)

“This has been an important struggle for those of us who work very hard to make the university work,” says UC Berkeley custodian Maricruz Manzanarez.