The University Council – American Federation of Teachers aims to prioritize academic freedom, job security and new guidelines on technology in the classroom in its ongoing contract negotiations with the UC system.<\/p>\n
A new contract would govern the approximately 5,314 Unit 18 teaching faculty members, which includes lecturers that UC-AFT represents throughout the UC system. The union met with UC administration most recently June 4 and is set to continue bargaining June 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe University of California and the UC-AFT union began bargaining in March, and negotiations have progressed regularly,\u201d said UCOP spokesperson Heather Hansen in an email. \u201cUC is working toward a fair and sustainable agreement that supports quality instruction, advances the University\u2019s academic mission, and helps students succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
UC-AFT aims to ensure lecturers are afforded the same academic freedom protections as their tenured colleagues, such as protections regarding what topics they can speak openly about with their students, according to UC-AFT Communications Chair Caroline Luce.<\/p>\n
Luce said employment for lecturers often remains precarious in \u201cmoments of budgetary crisis.\u201d She noted cuts to language programs, as well as the potential termination of 29 lecturer positions in UC Berkeley\u2019s Fall Program for First Semester, which is set to shut down<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen this year after year after year, so our job security proposals really aim to reflect \u2026 the value of our labor and our contributions to campus, so that we can be honored with the kind of dignity and stability that I think every educator deserves,\u201d Luce said.<\/p>\n UC-AFT seeks to restructure lecturer positions as \u201copen-ended appointments that would be fully funded\u201d to ensure faculty members have due process rights to challenge separation, according to Luce. She described the UC\u2019s job security proposals presented in contract negotiations as \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d and noted that they \u201cjust sort of respect the status quo.\u201d UC-AFT is still reviewing these proposals.<\/p>\n \u201cOur fight for language instruction at the university is a fight for the university to honor its global mission,\u201d Luce said. \u201cAnd to think of itself as a global leader, not just a safe place for international students and a place of belonging for immigrant students \u2026 but also as a university that is committed to the value of that international perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n