UCATS and NYU Reach Tentative Agreement

Late last night, the UCATS bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with NYU. It is important to note that there are still details to iron out before the proposed agreement is presented to the UCATS Executive Council.

Under the by-laws governing the Local, the Executive Council must review, evaluate and finally vote on whether or not to present the proposal to the membership for ratification. If the Council decides to present the proposal to the membership, the proposed contract will be distributed during a General Membership Meeting early in January. The purpose of the meeting will be to review the proposed contract and answer questions about it.

Following the General Membership Meeting, a ratification vote will take place by mail, supervised and conducted by the American Arbitration Association. We believe this will take place later in January.

Bargaining update

We went back to the bargaining table with NYU last night, and have scheduled an additional bargaining meeting for next Thursday, December 8.

We are hosting a town hall meeting for all UCATS members on Wednesday, December 7 at 5:30 PM in Vanderbilt Hall, Room 210. One of the purposes of the meeting is to update everyone on the status of contract negotiations.

We are up to 420 hard-copy signatures on our petition for a fair contract, and the online version is doing even better, with over 700 signatures as of this morning.

Have you signed the petition yet? If not, please do it now.


http://signon.org/sign/support-union-workers?source=c.em.mt&r_by=1550400

Please feel free to share the petition on your Facebook page or other social media outlet of choice!

Back to Bargaining

We are returning to the bargaining table with NYU on Thursday, December 1.

There will be a membership meeting on Wednesday, December 7, at 5:30 p.m., in Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Room 210.

In addition to discussing the status of contract bargaining at the meeting, we will also be electing our delegates to the 2012 NYSUT Representative Assembly (RA). This event is where elected delegates from affiliated union locals set the agenda of our state federation. This year the NYSUT RA will be held in Buffalo, NY from April 26-28, 2012. All UCATS members are entitled to run for a delegate position and/or to nominate other UCATS members to be delegates. UCATS is allotted 14 delegates. The election will be conducted by secret ballot at the meeting. If you have specific questions about being a delegate contact Stephen Rechner at ucatspres3882@hotmail.com.


UCATS TOWN HALL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Wednesday, December 7
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
40 Washington Square South
Vanderbilt Hall, Room 210

Chump Change Day

From Chump Change Day - Nov. 16

In spite of the nasty weather last night, we had a great turnout for Chump Change Day. It drove management crazy, and prompted them to walk out of the bargaining session for the SECOND time that day. They also cancelled our only remaining bargaining session, originally planned for today (Thursday, November 17).

It looks like this is going to be a long, hard battle. NYU barely moved off of their earlier proposals, which were unaffordable for our members, and they don't seem interested in bargaining with us.

Keep the pressure on! Come to "The 99% Reclaim NYU from Wall Street" rally outside of Stern today at 1:30 PM and join other workers and students in a show of unity.

"The 99% Reclaim NYU from Wall Street" Rally
Thursday, November 17
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
44 West 4th Street

What moves NYU? You do.

At the bargaining table Tuesday, there was posturing by NYU that they might be willing to make some minor improvements to the proposals that our members found the most objectionable. And the reason NYU was willing to move at all on these issues? In their own words, it was hearing from all of you at last Thursday's meeting that made the difference.

How much they are willing to move remains to be seen, and we still have more bargaining to do, but we thought you should know that your actions and words are having a real impact.

We also wanted to let you know that NYU agreed to extend the terms of our current contract--which expired on Monday--while we continue to negotiate.

Come to the general membership meeting on Monday, November 7 to find out what you can do to support your bargaining team at this crucial time.

UCATS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Monday, November 7
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South
Room 808

English Department resolution in support of UCATS

We just received word of this resolution, passed by NYU's English Department in support of UCATS:

RESOLVED

We understand that in current contract negotiations NYU is proposing that our colleagues in Local 3882 of the Union of Clerical and Technical Staff waive or curtail their constitutional rights to appeal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in instances of workplace discrimination. There is no such requirement in comparable union contracts, such as the Union@Cooper Union contract or the New York City contract with the United Federation of Teachers. We are dismayed at the chilling effect such a contractual provision for sole and exclusive arbitration would have on our colleagues’ ability to seek redress if they are discriminated against by reason of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability. Therefore, the faculty of the Department of English urges NYU to drop this proposal and to seek a contract that respects without restriction the legal rights of all employees.

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?

It was an amazing night at the bargaining session today. Over 100 UCATS members showed up to exercise our power and tell NYU what we think of management's unaffordable health insurance and wage proposals. The messages coming from all of you echoed what the UCATS bargaining team has been saying to NYU's negotiators all along: our members are living on the edge, and these proposed changes would push us right over the cliff.

We hope that NYU will finally get down to the business of negotiating a FAIR contract with us when we meet with them on Friday.

Keep reading the blog for updates and calls to action.

SAVE THE DATE
General Membership Meeting
Monday, November 7
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South
Room 808

BARGAINING UPDATE - NYU makes an offer we can't afford.

Don't take our word for it. Click below and see for yourself.

NYU's HEALTH INSURANCE PROPOSAL

NYU'S WAGE PROPOSAL

Key elements of the health insurance proposal:

• Across the board increases in health insurance premiums
• Steep increases to co-payments that would mean a member using the health insurance benefit could pay more in co-payments than they pay in monthly premiums

Key elements of the wage proposal:

• Pay freeze in the first year
• Small raises starting in 2012 that do not keep pace with the increases in health insurance costs, let alone the rising cost of living in New York

Are you upset? We certainly are. And we are putting out an urgent call to action for all of our members. Thursday is currently our last scheduled bargaining session before our contract expires. If you are unhappy with NYU's proposals, stand up and be counted. Come out Thursday after work for an impromptu DAY OF RAGE. NYU needs to hear from you if we are going to move them away from these unaffordable proposals.

DAY OF RAGE
THURSDAY, OCT. 27
7 EAST 12th STREET
Come after work. Stand up and speak out about NYU's proposals.

BARGAINING UPDATE - Hostage situation at 7 East 12th Street!

Your UCATS bargaining team was held hostage tonight by NYU. We were told that, unless we agreed to some of the proposals they put forward for the first time tonight, they would not present their wage or health insurance proposals.

In addition to denying us those crucial proposals, NYU submitted a proposal to us that would make the grievance and arbitration process the SOLE REMEDY in cases of discrimination.

We told NYU we would not be held hostage, and we need to see their wage and health insurance proposals in order to bargain.

Come join us Wednesday night at 5:30 for the contract rally and put the pressure on NYU to bargain with us! RAIN or SHINE - bring your umbrellas!

UCATS RALLY FOR A FAIR CONTRACT
Wednesday, October 26
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
7 East 12th Street

Bargaining Update #5

In a stunning move at our October 12 bargaining session, the university asked the UCATS bargaining team to agree to strip the constitutionally guaranteed rights of members to seek relief for discrimination with the EEOC. This suggestion is particularly alarming given the recent EEOC Consent Decree at NYU.

What was no surprise is that the university is proposing that you pay more for your health insurance coverage; how much more, they have not said.

Some good news: In a show of support for the UCATS bargaining team, members assembled in the lobby of 7 E. 12th Street last night to "greet" university negotiators as they left the building.

UCATS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING REMINDER:

Tuesday, October 18
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Room 206

Come get the latest update on the status of bargaining and find out what you need to do to get the contract you deserve.

Bargaining Update #4

We had two more bargaining sessions with the university on October 5 & 6. We put forward a number of proposals about economic and flexibility issues, and backed them up with your stories about the hardships you face every day. NYU listened to what we had to say but were not encouraging on many issues. 


What we are experiencing at the bargaining table is what unions are facing all across the country: a downward pressure on wages and benefits. But with your support and with your stories, we will continue to push back against NYU.


HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE BARGAINING TEAM?


GET INFORMED.
Come to the general membership meeting on Tuesday, October 18. It will be a dedicated contract bargaining meeting where we will have the latest updates for you. Ask us questions and give us feedback. Find out what you can do to help. This is your union and your contract!


General Membership Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 18
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Room 206


GET ACTIVE.
Come out in person to show your support! Our next bargaining session is Wednesday, October 12. We would love to see you in the lobby of 7 E. 12th Street when we finish our session. NYU's negotiators will see you too, and that will give them something to think about.


Post-Bargaining Session Action
Date: Wednesday, October 12
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Fairchild Building, 7 East 12th Street, Lobby

Contact your shop steward or the union office for more information.

Bargaining Update #3

The UCATS bargaining team met with the university again on Wednesday, September 27. Dr. Lynne Brown gave us a presentation about NYU's 2031 plan and we questioned her about how the expansion will affect our membership. We also scheduled additional bargaining sessions to give us time to present the issues we want to bring to the table.

The next bargaining sessions:

• Wednesday, October 5
• Thursday, October 6
• Wednesday, October 12
• Thursday, October 13

Going forward, we will update our website (www.ucats3882.org) and you should check it weekly for news and meeting notices. Please encourage members in your area to do so as well.

Bargaining Update #2

The UCATS bargaining team had our second bargaining session with the university on Thursday, September 22. We presented issues related to flexibility and job duties. There was some good discussion between the union bargaining team and the university representatives. We agreed to listen to the university's presentation about their NYU 2031 plan at the next bargaining session on Tuesday, September 27. In exchange, we got the university to agree to meet with us as often as we want in order to settle the new contract before the current one expires on October 31. 

Contract Negotiations Began September 13

The UCATS contract with NYU expires on October 31. We had our first bargaining session with NYU on September 13. After the teams introduced themselves, UCATS President Stephen Rechner made the following opening remarks:

     ...The issues we are bringing to bargaining reflect what we have experienced ourselves since 2005, as leaders, as organizers, and as employees, and what we have heard from our membership. We have gathered this information from our contract survey, from more than a dozen meetings with our membership over the spring and summer and from the grievances and other issues that have come to the Local’s attention over the past six years...

You can read Stephen's full remarks in this contract edition of Momentum Extra.