University of California (UC) officials announced an agreement with the University Professional and Technical Employees union regarding special wage increases for lower-paid employees. The agreement affects approximately 5000 UC research support and technical employees who work in titles that are paid on average less than $40,000 per year and represents a total cost to the University of approximately $1.2 million.
Effective April 1, 2007, employees represented by UPTE who work in titles that are paid less than $40,000 a year on average shall receive salary increases as follows:
- Employees earning $34,500 or less: 1.95% salary increase
- Employees earning $34,501 - $35,500: 0.95% salary increase
- Employees earning $35,001 - $39,999: 0.5% salary increase
In March 2007, UC reached an agreement with the Coalition of University Employees union regarding special raises for more than 11,800 UC clerical employees and also provided similar raises to approximately 4,000 non-represented lower-paid employees (see Related Information). In May 2007, UC reached an agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union regarding special wage increases for 14,300 service and patient care employees (see Related Information).
This is not the first time UC has taken special measures to give additional financial support to its lower-paid staff. In 2000, UC sought and received an additional $19 million in state funding to boost employee salaries, the majority of which went to employees earning $40,000 or less, and in 2002, as it had done several times previously, UC gave eligible employees additional retirement funds to help mitigate disappointing salary increases due to limited state funding (see Related Information).
