PERB FIND VALIDITY TO SIX KEY UAW UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE CLAIMS, ORDERS UC TO APPEAR AT HEARINGS
Berkeley – California’s Public Employee Relations Board issued six complaints today regarding the University’s refusal and failure to bargain with UAW 2865 and SRU-UAW over compensation, and UC’s unilateral changes to workers’ compensation. The complaints come on Day Nine of the largest strike in the country, and the largest strike ever at an institute of higher education.
“We are heartened to see PERB issue complaints on these six charges – UC cannot simply refuse to bargain over meaningful portions of our compensation, and they cannot unilaterally decide to change or dock pay while we are bargaining,” said Kavitha Iyengar, UAW 2865 Northern Vice President. “These complaints mark recognition of what Academic Workers have known all along: UC’s refusal to bargain with us over all of our compensation is not only unacceptable, it is an unlawful attempt to undermine our collective bargaining rights.”
The UAW locals have filed more than 30 Unfair Labor Practices against the University at this point – and PERB has found validity with every one that they have responded to thus far. The University has engaged in a wide range of unlawful conduct regarding compensation over the last year – in these cases announcing changes to workers’ pay without bargaining over those changes, all the while characterizing the compensation as “student support.”
At UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, UCSF, and UCB PERB has found, after reviewing the University’s defenses, that the Union has a case that the University has violated state labor law.
PERB has issued complaints on the following specific charges:
You can also view the status of all Unfair Labor Practice claims by following this tracker.