SUBJECT:

UPTE Election and Employee Communication

As you may already know, on May 29, 2003, the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), an affiliate of the Communication Workers of America, filed a petition with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to represent a system-wide unit of University administrative and professional employees. PERB determined that UPTE demonstrated a sufficient showing of support (30% of the employees in the proposed unit) needed to conduct a representation election. Beginning February 11, 2004, employees with titles included in the petition will receive ballots that must be received by PERB on or before March 3, 2004.

The election will determine whether employees with titles included in the petition will be exclusively represented by UPTE with regard to their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, or whether they will retain their existing terms and conditions of employment as provided for by the University's Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM). For a list of the titles included in the petition, please see: http://blink.ucsd.edu/go/petitiontitles

As the supervisor or manager of employees with titles included in the petition, you have a very important role in communicating with these employees. A communication has been developed to provide you with information so you can more effectively communicate with these employees. Please see: http://blink.ucsd.edu/go/upteelection

You will also be able to refer to the Blink menu on collective bargaining, which contains regular updates as well as comprehensive information on all matters relating to collective bargaining and the upcoming election including:

* General election information for Administrative and Professional
   Employees,
* The election process,
* Election principles agreed to by both the University and UPTE, and
* Frequently asked questions about the upcoming election.

The menu may be found at: http://blink.ucsd.edu/menu/lr

Rogers Davis Assistant Vice Chancellor - Human Resources