While RPSPs get ready to ratify our Initial Bargaining Demands to demonstrate our unity to UC, we just took another major step to strengthen our bargaining position: UC has agreed to meet RPSPs and our colleagues in SSAP-UAW (Student Services and Advising Professionals) at a joint bargaining table, beginning on October 29th! As we discussed in our last town hall, bargaining jointly with SSAPs will allow us to jump start negotiations and dramatically increase our power in numbers to advance our shared priorities like fairer wages, increased job security, benefits, and more. Read UC’s response and the joint demand to bargain here.
Our bargaining surveys demonstrated that the priorities of 7,000+ RPSPs mirror those of the 5,000+ SSAPs who we will join at the bargaining table with nearly double the leverage. In order to show the UC how many RPSPs care about making progress on these issues, we are holding a vote to ratify our “Initial Bargaining Demands” (IBDs). These demands are broad, overarching goals for negotiations and not the actual contract proposals. Historically, high turnout IBD ratifications have been invaluable to keep UC negotiating fairly. RPSPs can ratify IBDs through an online voting link that will be emailed and posted on our website on Oct 21-28. The more of us who ratify our IBDs, the greater our power will be to improve our workplace.
Town Halls Next Week
Next week, RPSPs are holding IBD Town Halls once a day on Oct 21-23 where everyone is invited to learn more about the bargaining process, the IBDs and their role in negotiations, and the roadmap towards a contract. There will also be opportunities to share our experiences working at UC so all RPSPs have a better sense of the improvements we seek. To maximize accessibility, there will be three town halls, all with the same content, so you can find a time that works for you–RSVP HERE.
Get CAT Trained!
RPSPs across the UC are joining the Contract Action Team (CAT 🐱), which is the broad network of people who help make sure every dept and office is well-informed and engaged in our campaign for a first contract. Our ability to successfully negotiate a strong contract as RPSP-UAW depends entirely upon how many of us are united and participating. The more RPSPs who understand the bargaining process, the more ready we will be to mobilize and respond en masse to advance our top priorities. Schedule your bargaining 101 and get connected with fellow CAT members!
Note on Communications
Our official union email (rpsp.info [at] uc-uaw [dot] org) has now been whitelisted by UC to lessen the impact of spam and quarantine filters. Going forward, official bargaining updates will be regularly shared from this email, posted on the website’s bargaining portal and Instagram, and communicated best through our CAT network. If you have a coworker who hasn’t been receiving emails, they should fill out this form.
