Teamsters Weigh in on Contract Negotiations at University of California Regents' Meeting

Union Gathering Evidence on Wage Disparity and Workplace Discrimination

SAN FRANCISCO, July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, representatives from CUE-Teamsters Local 2010 attended the Regents meeting of the University of California to ensure that the interests of their statewide membership will be resolved soon, as contract negotiations have been ongoing for an extended period of time.

In May, the Coalition of University Employees (CUE) elected to affiliate with the 1.4 million-member Teamsters Union. The significance of that decision has far-reaching ramifications, and creates an important opportunity for the University of California (UC) to establish a productive relationship that will benefit all UC clerical and allied services employees.

"Teamsters General President Hoffa is taking a personal interest in seeing that the union's CUE members receive whatever professional and technical assistance is needed to secure a fair contract that respects the vital contributions made by staff throughout the state," said Michael Filler, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division.  

The university's clerical and allied services employees are overwhelmingly women, and their wages lag far behind their counterparts; nonetheless, the university expects these employees to sacrifice more than other UC staff have by accepting a meager pay increase and contributing more of their own dollars to a pension system from which few will benefit.

Besides conducting a comprehensive analysis on wages and benefits, the Teamsters are undertaking a major investigation based on numerous reports of bullying, discrimination, and other forms of mistreatment throughout the UC system.  

"Once we have gathered the evidence and documented the cases in detail, we intend to share our findings with the university so that those creating or permitting a hostile work environment will be dealt with. No workplace should tolerate such behavior, especially a highly-regarded learning institution like the University of California. This is a new day," Filler said, "and the regents should be prepared to work with us to resolve key employment issues impacting this 14,000 person workforce. Respect is a Teamster contract."

SOURCE CUE-Teamsters Local 2010