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The University of California and University Professional and Technical Employees have ratified a three-year contract for technical workers on the UC campuses. The contract, which took effect Sept. 10, is the culmination of two and a half years of bargaining in approximately 140 sessions. Some 400 technical workers at Berkeley are covered by the contract. These include a variety of job titles grouped together by the state Public Employment Relations Board under the "technical" heading-among them lab assistants, computer resource specialists, animal technicians, animal health technicians, electronics technicians, writers, editors, artists, lab mechanicians, computer operators, museum preparators, translator/interpreters, firefighters and others. Eligible UPTE members ratified the agreement Aug. 22; the university ratified Sept. 10. The contract is the first negotiated by UC and the new union. For employees formerly covered by Staff Personnel Policy, the new agreement maintains the existing range adjustment/merit increase processes. For employees formerly covered by the Administrative and Professional Staff Personnel Policies, the pay-for-performance merit system remains in place. Under the new agreement, all eligible technical unit employees will have the same merit review date, Oct. 1. Increases for which an employee was eligible prior to July 1, 1996, will be made to the employee's base salary on July 1, 1996. Article 6, on compensation, lists a series of lump-sum payments UPTE and UC negotiated to cover the October 1996 range adjustment and the January 1996 merit increase. Other contract provisions concern training and development, grievance
and arbitration, health and safety, compensation for premium overtime, severance
pay, reclassification procedures and use of accumulated sick leave to care
for a household member for whom the employee has a personal obligation. |