UC Workers Protest Proposed Paycuts April 13

Workers at UC Protest on Strike Anniversary

UC Unveils Pay Cut Plan for Low-wage Workers While Execs Profit

Contacts: Faith Raider, 510-844-1160 x110
LaKesha Harrison, 310-824-0019 x231; 310-877-6878 (c)

For Thursday, April 13, 2006 – Food servers, custodians and other low-wage University of California workers who struck a year ago and brought UC’s minimum wage up to $9.27 an hour, will commemorate the strike anniversary by protesting a proposed pay cut plan by UC.

Thousands of UC service workers – many of whom are minorities and immigrants – walked off the job on April 14, 2005, for one day to call attention to their inability to pay for housing and other basic family needs on UC’s poverty wages.

Rallies and other actions will be held on every UC campus Thursday, April 13, to protest a new UC plan that would take back what was won in a new contract last year by cutting wages by up to 8% to fund the UC pension. The rallies are scheduled on the same day the UC Regents will release the results of an audit on and task force investigation into UC executive pay excesses.

“We are not about to give back what we fought so hard to win. Most of us still work two and three jobs to feed our families, while executives continue to profit”, said Julian Posadas, a UC Santa Cruz food service worker and the vice president of AFSCME 3299. Local 3299 represents 18,000 UC service and patient care workers. “$9.27 an hour is little enough, now UC wants to lower it 8% to $8.50 an hour by imposing a pay cut”, Posadas said.

Regents voted in March to start contributions to the UC retirement plan (UCRP). Because of UCRP overfunding, there has been a “contributions holiday” since 1990. The UCRP will continue to be over 100% funded until 2009, but UC is rushing a Regents vote on the level of employee contributions before contract negotiations with the majority of UC unions begin in 2007 and 2008. UC management has indicated it wants employees to pay 8%.

A report published in February 2005 by the non-profit National Economic Development Law Center found that many UC workers earned wages too low to pay for rent, food, health care and transportation. The report also found that UC wage rates significantly lagged those in the California State University system and at many community colleges (report at www.nedlc.org). In spite of contract gains last year, a February 2006 AFSCME study found that wage rates for custodians at UC were still 26% below rates for custodians at CSU (www.afscme3299.org).

“UC conveniently overlooks our history of poverty wages and expects us to be grateful that we haven’t had to contribute to our pension recently. If our wages were 26% higher, we might be more willing to discuss pension contributions”, said LaKesha Harrison, President of AFSCME 3299 and a UCLA licensed Vocational Nurse.

April 13, 2006 action times and locations:

UCD – 12 noon; Mrak Hall on Campus
UCB – 3 pm; Lower Sproul Plaza on Campus
UCSF – 12 pm; Main hospital (505 Parnassus Ave)
UCSC – 12 noon; Baytree Bookstore Plaza
UCSB – 12 noon; Main Library on campus
UCR Campus – 2:30 pm; Chancellorâ€™s Office (Hinderaker Hall)
UCI Campus – 11:30 am; Flagpoles by Admin. Bldg on Campus
UCI Medical Center – 11:30 am; Breezeway by Cafeteria
UCLA call Nicole Moore 323-309-1046
UCSD Campus – Chancellor’s Office (Multipurpose Bldg); 12:30 pm; Celene Perez; 951-202-0251
UCSD Hillcrest Medical Center – 12:30 pm, Medical Science Bldg.(200 W. Harbor Drive)