It has been almost nine months since our contract negotiations began on November 7, 2023. Since then, your UC-AFT librarian Table Team has engaged in 14 bargaining sessions with the University. We’ve made significant progress on many of our proposals. Below is a recap of some of the key issues.
For five months, The University has been avoiding our core economic demands, including proposals on salary, benefits, and professional development. We think it’s about time the UC management comes back to the table with serious counter proposals on these crucial issues. We hope to see the University’s economic counters at the next bargaining session at UCLA on July 29.
On July 31, all U17 members should attend a statewide Town Hall on Zoom, where we will discuss the state-of-play for our proposals and how we can win. It is more important than ever that we turn up the heat and fight for the fair contract we deserve.
The University’s long-overdue economic counter proposals
Article 13 – Salary
The University passed its opening salary proposal on February 8. The six-year proposal—for a 3.5% initial increase with dwindling adjustments from 3% in 2025, to 2.5% in 2026 and 2027, and 2% in 2028 and 2029—was woefully inadequate, all but guaranteeing that our wages will not keep pace with inflation.
Given the soaring costs of living in the state of California, we must ensure librarians are fairly compensated. UC-AFT librarians already lag far behind our non-represented counterparts. The announcement of a 4.2% increase for non-union academic appointees across the UC system (effective July 1, 2024) means that non-represented librarians now earn 6.85% more than U17 librarians.
Our strong counter to the University’s lackluster offer proposes substantial salary gains over four years, plus structural improvements:
- Initial $8,000 increase at every point, giving a progressive boost for junior ranks.
- 6% increases across the salary schedule each July 1st until 2028.
- removal of two lowest salary points (currently unused) of the Assistant and Associate Librarian ranks.
- Automatic three-point salary increase when an Assistant Librarian promotes to Associate Librarian.
- A me-too clause to match any general range salary adjustment given to our non-represented librarian peers and colleagues, and to allow parallel access to off-scale salary for U17 librarians who advance above the published scale.
Article 14 – University Benefits
On March 5, we also proposed to strengthen the health and welfare benefits offered by the University, thus easing the financial strain for our librarians.
While the University offers a comprehensive set of benefits for its workers, ever-increasing employee contributions have become a burden, especially for healthcare premiums—up to 193% over 2022 rates were announced in October 2023. To protect our members from such egregious rate hikes in the future, we proposed a $10/month cap on any annual increases to employee contribution rates.
We also proposed changes to make U17 librarians eligible for housing benefits that are currently available to other academic appointees, such as Senate Faculty. These benefits vary by campus and could offer some relief to the housing challenges faced by librarians.
Article 3 – Professional Activities and Development
It has been 185 days! since UC-AFT passed our proposal to expand professional development support for UC Librarians. We haven’t heard a peep from the University. While costs for a conference can easily run over $2000, librarians are expected to participate and contribute professionally through conferences and meetings regularly as part of the academic community. Our proposal on Article 3 is for a minimum $3600 annual professional development allotment for every librarian in our bargaining unit, and an increased allocation to the UC-wide pool specifically dedicated to research so librarians can build and share their expertise. Raising the amount of the UC-wide special fund will increase the number and quality of research initiatives that librarians can contribute to the library and the UC.
Progress on key issues
Article 4 – Definition, Criteria, Terms of Service for Appointment, Merit Increase, Promotion and Career Status
This important article describes and defines who we are as librarians. UC-AFT’s proposals aim to align with current APM-360 language, strengthen librarian peer assessment, adopt a process for remediation plans for career-status librarians facing performance issues, and clarify review options for librarians at the top of the Associate or Librarian ranks.
An ongoing point of contention regarding the definition of Librarian is that the University wants our contract to automatically incorporate any revisions to APM 360-4 (Definitions section) should it be updated during the term of our contract. As previously mentioned, we continue to assert that any newly proposed APM language must follow the same review process, with the same crucial librarian stakeholders (including LAUC), at which time we can discuss the potential incorporation of updated language into our contract.
Article 7 – Assignments, Transfers, and Reassignments
This article protects U17 librarians from unreasonable or excessive workload. There are fewer UC librarians now than there were in 2020, and some positions are not being refilled. Many librarians have been asked to take on greater responsibilities and scope of work. Strengthening the protections against a burdensome workload is critical to ensuring librarians can provide excellent professional support to teaching, research, and student learning across the UC.
Our most recent proposal provides that when the University adds significant duties to a librarian’s assignment, the librarian’s review initiator will meet with the librarian to discuss the additional duties being assigned, how the Librarian will use their professional judgment to meet the goals of their existing position and the new duties, including the extent to which existing duties may be reduced; and, the effective start and, if interim, anticipated end dates of the duties/assignment. The University continues to reject the ability to grieve unreasonable or excessive workloads.
Article 18 – Temporary Appointees
UC-AFT initially proposed significant changes to offer temporary librarians an improved pathway to potential career status appointment, and to protect against churning/turnover, by providing for automatic conversion if a temporary appointment is extended beyond the two- or three-year term.
The University didn’t agree to the automatic conversion to potential career, but reached agreement for managerial discretion to pursue such a step, including via off-cycle review. We’re pleased about this new language acknowledging an expeditious pathway to potential career status for temporary librarians.
Article 32 – Flexible Work Arrangements
Our proposals aim to protect and harmonize flexible work opportunities for librarians across the UC, allowing librarians to request alternate work schedules (e.g., hours outside of the library building’s normal operating hours) and hybrid-location arrangements (a schedule with regular remote work outside the campus location). We also proposed protections for fully-remote workers, providing for a minimum time-period in which a fully-remote librarian can consider a management decision to modify their work location.
Finally, we proposed the ability for librarians who work remotely (full-time or hybrid) to request the equipment necessary to excel in their work, which could include computing peripherals, ergonomic furniture, and other materials.
Tentative agreements
UC-AFT and the University have reached a tentative agreement (“TA”) on several articles (6, 10, 11, 15, 17, 24). This means that both parties have mutually agreed on contract language for these particular articles, so essentially these pieces of our negotiations are finished. Of course, when all of the articles are complete, the UC-AFT members will vote whether to ratify the entire contract (hence the “tentative” status). Only after a ratification will a new contract enter into effect.
If you’re in SoCal, please consider showing up in person to observe bargaining at UCLA on July 29. And remember to RSVP for the July 31 Town Hall now!
In solidarity,
The UC-AFT Unit 17 Table Team
Kendra K. Levine, Bay Area, Chief Negotiator
I-Wei Wang, Bay Area
Timothy Vollmer, Bay Area
Jared Campbell, Davis
Mitchell Brown, Irvine
Xaviera Flores, Los Angeles
Miki Goral, Los Angeles
Joy Holland, Los Angeles
Jerrold Shiroma, Merced
Carla Arbagey, Riverside
Michael Yonezawa, Riverside
Tori Maches, San Diego
Laurel McPhee, San Diego
Jenny Reiswig, San Diego
Kristen LaBonte, Santa Barbara
Alix Norton, Santa Cruz
Tamara Pilko, Santa Cruz
Jess Waggoner, Santa Cruz