The Regents have responded many times to the calls for fair wages, dismissing the requests as ungrantable, or even invalid. The repeated disappointment felt by UC workers has prompted many to act through demonstrations, sit-ins, petitions and even strikes. Each time, the Regents responded with the same one note joke: There’s no money.

That one note joke just got a bit funnier. The Coalition of University Employees (CUE, the rank-and-file union representing clerical workers throughout the UC system) have released a Fact Finding Report. Released on the 17th of February, 2005, the report was commissioned by CUE to investigate how much money the school actually has access to, and what position that puts the UC in terms of its treatment of clerical workers.
Investigating the matter were three spry gentlemen: Henry Levy (representing the union), Peter Chester (representing the UC Regents), and a neutral Fact Finder, Gerald R. McKay, collectively known as “The Panel�. The Panel conducted a series of five hearings throughout the month of November, 2004. In these hearings, both parties (Regents, CUE) presented a wealth of information to support their case, although the Regents state that the Report will have no influence on their ultimate decision.

That’s lucky for them, because the lengthy final report was filled with juicy facts like: “The University’s net income (revenues minus expenses) for this past fiscal year ($786 million in 2003-04) was higher than it was for the prior fiscal year ($559 million in 2002-03)� ...which makes sense because I can barely afford to go to school here, so that money must be going somewhere. I don’t know why, but the UC has accumulated a $5 Billion reserve (Money) that isn’t being spent; isn’t being spent on retaining valuable programs, isn’t being spent to pay workers fair wages, and isn’t being spent to to put a freeze on my tuition.

“Mr. Kissler testified that he was not predicting any change in the University’s pattern of taking in millions of dollars more than it spent in a particular year.�

Jerry Kissler is the UC Assistant Vice President of Building Planning and Fiscal Analysis. Kissler goes on to explain that the UC does not give wage increases unless the State of California does so first. He said this in defense of withholding $20 million it had set aside for a 6% wage increase for CUE employees. He claims that because the State did not give any of the $10 million it had promised for wage increases, it would not honor the 6% wage increases as well. This isn’t because they need the State funds; state funding only accounts for 15% of a CUE employee’s wage. It’s a matter of policy.

In other words, the school is taking in hundreds of millions of dollars a year, more each year than last, yet they’re raising tuition, class size, and student population, cutting programs, and neglecting workers under the premise of a “budget crisis.�

Now, the question of whether UC can afford wage increases is different from whether they should. The report uses the wages of similar clerical positions in the CSU system to show that UC salaries are not competitive with those of similar employers. For example, assistant clerical position salaries were found to be 22.7% less than the same positions under CSU. “Library assistant positions at CSU are paid 33% more than comparable employees at UC,� the report said.

There are two very different conclusions that can be taken from this information: 1) CUE employees should be paid more, or 2) CSU clericals should be paid less.

The report states that Clericals are among the lowest paid workers at UCSC, suggesting a need for revision in the UC wage hierarchy. Clerical workers, it states, have recieved wage increases of about 9.5% over the last seven years, while the cost of living has risen by 26.3% over the same amount of time. The Report attributes this pattern of underfunding to Health plans for UC workers, as well.

The UC has already made statements that the findings of the Fact Finding report will have little effect on their decisions regarding workers’ wages. CUE is responding by organizing workers for possibe strikes. Both CUE and AFSCME (American Federal State County Municipal Employees union) workers are preparing themselves for potential stragegic work stoppages that will occur in April if the Unions feel it would help their struggle.

If you are interested in supporting CUE and other UC workers’ right to fair treatment, keep your eyes open in April for potential work stoppages and other events. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Student and Worker Coalition meetings, Thursday nights at 8 p.m. under the Hungry Slug. To contact CUE or read the full Fact Finding Report, vist www.cueunion.org