We hope that all UC-AFT librarians are weathering this crisis in the best way possible. This rapid transition has left us all more busy than ever, and while the message below is long, it’s vital to the important work we all do for the University. That said, nothing is more important than each and every one of you taking every moment you need to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, healthy, and sane. We stand in solidarity with you – even though we’re at least 6 feet away.
Our union has initiated “Effects Bargaining” to address impacts upon our rights and responsibilities of our members in the midst of this emerging crisis. This bargaining will likely happen much more quickly than last year’s campaign, and we expect it to result in a “side letter” agreement, to address specific issues not covered by the terms in our current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – often referred to as the contract.
As always, we will derive our bargaining demands from the needs of our members, and your input is vital for us to formulate reasonable demands to bring to university administration. Members of Unit 17 can update our volunteer negotiators on the challenges we are all facing, by filling out the Effects Bargaining Survey #2 this week that was emailed to you this week – the deadline is close of business Friday, April 3rd.
Keep your eye on this blog (look to the right column for subscription options) – We’ll have more information to share as the Effects Bargaining process gets underway, with our first virtual bargaining session on April 10th.
One last point for now: these bargaining efforts do not take place in a vacuum. We know other bargaining units will face similar challenges, including our siblings in UC-AFT Unit 18 Faculty, and other staff and student unions who are struggling to secure their rights. We must bargain for our unit’s rights, support the efforts of our siblings in gaining the rights they need, and stand up for our colleagues in non-represented staff positions. All these efforts are important, and will lift one another.
In Solidarity,
UC-AFT Unit 17 Contract Administration Group
Carla Arbagey, UC Riverside
Martin Brennan, UCLA
I-Wei Wang, UC Berkeley
UC-AFT Librarians Blog 