November 22, 1999
UC, UPTE-CWA reach agreement on wages for technical employees
By Brad Hayward
UC Office of the President
The University of California and the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications
Workers of America (UPTE-CWA) reached tentative agreement in early November on wages
and other reopened contract articles for 4,000 technical employees at UC.
For technical unit employees on UC campuses, the tentative agreement includes a 2
percent retroactive range increase for 1998-99 and 1999-2000. Most technical unit
employees will receive a 2 percent across-the-board retroactive salary increase each
year. Employees in certain technical unit classifications will also receive a lump-sum
signing bonus.
For technical unit employees at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the merit
system will be continued, with a 4 percent merit pool for 1998-99 and a 3.5 percent
merit pool for 1999-2000.
The agreement includes other compensation adjustments for certain classifications
and some minor changes to other contract articles. Employees in the technical unit
include laboratory assistants, computer resource specialists and animal technicians,
among others.
The initial contract for the technical unit took effect in 1997, and the tentative
agreement will extend it until September 2000. Negotiations between the university
and the union have centered on reopened articles of the contract.
Technical unit employees and university representatives must ratify the tentative
agreement before it can be implemented. That process is expected to be completed
by the end of November. Prospective pay increases will be distributed within 60 days
of the first pay period following ratification, and retroactive increases will be
paid within 120 days of the first pay period following ratification.
