During CX contract negotiations February 24-25, our CX Bargaining Team won a Tentative Agreement to increase bereavement leave from the current 7 days up to 10 days. And, after alleging that campuses are not “24-hour operations,” we pushed the UC to increase to the $1.25 per hour shift differential for campus workers that UC Health workers currently receive and that all titles need to receive the differential, especially AO2s. Our team gave examples of campus-based employees in student health and school of medicine clinics, public safety dispatchers, libraries and others who provide 24-hour support and are in need of increased differential rates.
The UC made another proposal on wages with some modest improvements in annual salary increases plus pay steps for each year of the agreement, expanding the longevity bonuses for the life of the agreement, and improved minimum wage amounts for those making less than $25/hour. However, for workers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the UC proposed unacceptable, low-ball wages that are less than what is being proposed for the rest of CX Unit.
The teams also continued discussions on healthcare benefits. During negotiations Feb. 10-11, Teamsters pressure brought management closer to our demand to maintain caps on increasing healthcare premium costs. The UC agreed to a $25 per month cap on healthcare premium increases for the UC Blue & Gold Plan for 2026 and a 5% maximum increase for 2027, with a small monthly subsidy both years. However, the UC did not agree to cap increases on Kaiser premiums for 2026 with a subsidy, but would limit increased premium to 7.5% in 2027 with a subsidy. Our team counter-proposed a $25 per month cap on Kaiser premium increases as well as a 5% increase in the subsidy.
Bilingual Blackout Day, March 11!
We’re calling for a Bilingual Blackout Day for CX Teamsters to show that our language skills are essential and deserve proper pay. If it is not a requirement in your job description or you are not being paid for your bilingual work, don’t do it.
Get your Bilingual Blackout Day sticker from your Union Representative or steward and wear it on March 11!
Our Blackout Day means:
- No translating at the counter or over the phone!
- No interpreting for supervisors or departments!
- No rewriting documents into a second language!
- No answering emails requiring bilingual communication!
We negotiated bilingual pay into our Teamsters contract. If UC wants to use your bilingual skills, they must pay for it. If UC asks you to interpret and bilingual skills is NOT a job requirement and you are not receiving a bilingual stipend, then you have the right to refuse. You have the right to demand to be paid the bilingual stipend!
Our team detailed our workers’ difficulty using earned vacation hours and how we’re forced to use vacation hours for bereavement or curtailment, with Bargaining Team members giving examples of actual situations. Along with the Tentative Agreement on bereavement leave, we also pushed UC to change the process that caused workers to lose eligibility for holiday pay for holidays that fall within a curtailment period if a worker took leave without pay for the curtailment.
The teams made Tentative Agreements with current contract language for Article 2 – Agreement, Article 22 – Out-of-Class Assignment and Article 33 – Respectful, Fair Treatment.
Notable management quotes from the sessions:
“We are not paying you to have healthcare. Well, in a way we are.”
“There’s his story, there’s her story and there’s the truth.”
Further negotiations are scheduled for March 17-18, April 7-8, May 12-14 and May 27-28.
