UC-AFT holds virtual May Day rally to promote strike readiness pledge
Nirvana Ellabody/File
University Council-American Federation of Teachers demonstrators come together to demand a fair contract for UC lecturers and demonstrate their willingness to strike.
Almost 200 people came together Saturday at a Zoom rally hosted by the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, or UC-AFT, to demand a fair contract for UC lecturers and demonstrate their willingness to strike.
Taking place on International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, the hourlong event featured speakers from several branches of UC-AFT and included messages of solidarity from other unions. Attendees were encouraged to sign and share a strike readiness pledge, which gained 40 signatures during the event.
Lecturers have put their hearts and souls into creating a positive experience for students, said Joanna Reed, a sociology continuing lecturer at UC Berkeley. And they’d like to see the university recognize that by honoring their demands.
To many UC students, there is little difference between a class taught by a lecturer and one taught by a tenured professor. Undergraduates seek both lecturers and tenure-track faculty members for research mentorship and advice on navigating academic life. Yet according to lecturers currently bargaining for a new contract, the UC administration depends on their labor while refusing to treat them as a critical part of the university.
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UC-AFT holds virtual teaching faculty rally to settle contract
Jasmine Lee/Staff
The University Council-American Federation of Teachers hosted a virtual rally Monday at 1 p.m. to call on the UC Office of the President to settle a new teaching faculty contract and reappointment process.
Nearly 200 people gathered at a Zoom rally to participate in a virtual rally Monday at 1 p.m. to call on the UC Office of the President, or UCOP, to settle a new teaching faculty contract and reappointment process.
According to the UC memorandum of understanding, Unit 18 represents non-Senate faculty who instruct UC students. Their contract, which dictates Unit 18 faculty’s treatment, had been in effect since Feb. 29, 2016, but expired Jan. 31, 2020. The one-hour rally was hosted by the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, or UC-AFT.
UC-AFT, UCOP continue talks on job stability, compensation
Lisi Ludwig/File
The University Council-American Federation of Teachers presented its compensation proposal and answered questions from UC negotiators about its job stability proposal at a bargaining session Jan. 21.
Last Updated January 26, 2021
The University Council-American Federation of Teachers, or UC-AFT, presented its compensation proposal and answered questions from UC negotiators about its job stability proposal at a bargaining session Jan. 21.
According to David Walter, a teaching faculty member in the UC Berkeley English department and comparative literature department, the UC Office of the President, or UCOP, and UC-AFT have been bargaining on three main topics: job stability, compensation and workload for almost two years. At the most recent bargaining session, UC-AFT explained its compensation proposal in addition to discussing how to raise the minimum salary and schedule future raises that match with infl