[Faculty] Tentative Agreement on ASE/GSR Contract

[UCR Provost]

*This letter is sent on behalf of UC System Provost and Executive Vice
President Katherine S. Newman. For your convenience, the text of the letter
is below.  The signed letter is attached as a pdf.*




ACADEMIC COUNCIL CHAIR AHMET PALAZOGLU

EXECUTIVE VICE CHANCELLORS AND PROVOSTS



Dear Colleagues:



I am pleased to share that following four weeks of confidential mediation,
the University has reached tentative agreements with the United Auto
Workers (UAW) for the unified Academic Student Employees (ASE – TAs, AIs,
Fellows, Readers, Tutors) and Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) bargaining
unit, as well as the Student Services and Advising Professionals and
Research and Public Service Professionals staff units. This represents a
significant milestone for both the University and the UAW, and as a result,
UAW has called off the strike that was previously authorized. These
tentative agreements will now be put before the union membership for
ratification which we believe will occur by the end of this week.



I am particularly grateful to the faculty who were central to the
deliberative process. A faculty member participated directly in the
mediation sessions and the UC negotiating team consulted regularly with the
Chair and Vice Chair of the Academic Senate, the faculty advisory
committee, and the faculty on the UC bargaining team in formulating its
proposals. We are very appreciative of their advice and counsel during the
course of bargaining and mediation.



Because of their engagement, and the good faith and collaboration of our
union partners, the tentative agreement meets the priorities of UAW members
while also being fiscally responsible, sustainable, and attentive to the
impact on faculty-funded research. We recognize that Principal
Investigators are under a lot of pressure to meet the financial obligations
of their grants and that no increase is easy to absorb. Similarly, the
University’s instructional budget is constrained. Nonetheless, in the
spirit of common commitment to the teaching and research mission of the
University, we made every effort to find meaningful compromises.



After the UAW’s ratification vote concludes and there is an agreement on a
new contract with the UAW, I will follow up with specific details.



Finally, I wish to thank you for all your efforts to prepare academic
continuity contingency plans; I am grateful they were not needed. Please
share this message with all faculty to convey my appreciation of their
dedication, insights, and sustained efforts throughout this process.



                                                                  Best
wishes,







Katherine S. Newman

UC System Provost and

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs



UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Public
Policy



cc:  President Milliken

Chancellors

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nava

Executive Vice President Rubin

Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Bustamante

Senior Vice President Turner

Laboratory Director Witherell

Academic Council Vice Chair Scott

Vice President Brown

Vice President/Vice Provost Gullatt

Vice President Humiston

Vice President and Chief of Staff Kao

Vice President Henderson

Vice President Maldonado

Vice Provost Varsanyi

Vice Provosts/Vice Chancellors for Academic Personnel

Vice Chancellors for Research

Deputy Provost Lee

Associate Vice Provost Jennings

Associate Vice President Matella

Associate Vice President McRae

Assistant Vice Provosts/Vice Chancellors for Academic Personnel

Chief Human Resource Officers

Graduate Deans

Executive Director Anders

Executive Director Lin

Executive Director Menezes

Deputy General Counsel Woodall

Chief of Staff Beechem

Labor Relations Directors

Director Weston-Dawkes
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