UC, UPTE reach tentative agreement
Contract calls for salary increases, some retroactive, for 2000-2002

11 July 2001 | The University of California and the University Professional and Technical Employees union have reached tentative agreement on a two-year contract for technical employees. Union members are expected to vote on the agreement in the next three weeks.

The agreement calls for salary increases for 2000-01 to be retroactive to Oct. 1, 2000, and increases for 2001-02 to be effective Oct. 1, 2001.

The actual payout dates for any ratified agreement will be implemented on each campus. Debra Harrington, labor relations manager at Berkeley, said payroll officials are working to determine the most efficient way to process the large number of payouts required at Berkeley so that they can process the payments as soon as possible. Information about the payout process will be provided through campus control unit administrators and will be available on the HR Web site — hrweb.berkeley.edu— when the details are finalized.

“We are pleased that an amicable agreement has been reached and the campus will be able to move forward with pay increases for these key employees,” said Sandra Haire, assistant vice chancellor for human resources.

For 2000-01, step-based employees will receive a 4.49 percent across-the-board increase and open-range employees will receive a 2.49 percent across-the-board increase. The contract also provides for campus-specific merit increases and expanded pay ranges for some titles. For 2001-02, bargaining unit employees will be eligible for the same general salary increase as other staff employees, a figure dependent upon funding provided in the final state budget. There also are several special title-specific and campus-specific increases. In addition, there will be a 4.5 percent increase above the maximum of the salary range for employees who have been at the maximums of their salary ranges for five years at the same classification and the same campus as of Oct. 1, 2001.

Other agreements include up to 40 hours of release time for training at the supervisor’s discretion, up from 24 hours, and a new pilot program for grievance resolution at three UC campuses including Berkeley.

Employees who belong to the UPTE technical unit include laboratory assistants, computer resource specialists, animal technicians, art models, translator-interpreters, electronics technicians, writers, editors, artists, computer operators and firefighters. Berkeley has approximately 450 Technical Unit employees.

The university system has also reached an agreement with UPTE’s RX, or research support professional unit, representing staff researchers. Affected employees have ratified that contract, and the campus is working through the implementation of the pay provisions. The RX contract calls for employees in step-based titles to receive a base-building increase of 2.8 percent plus $56 a month effective October 1, 2000. In addition, step-based RX employees will eligible for within-range merit increases. RX employees in open ranges will receive a 4.33 percent adjustment plus $56 a month base-building increase. If the university’s range and merit increase for other non-academic, non-represented employees for 2001-02 is less than or more than 3.5 percent for career employees, the university will bargain over the proposed amount and distribution of changes to employees’ wages.