ACADEMIC SENATE: SAN DIEGO DIVISION

November 18, 2024

MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE, SAN DIEGO DIVISION

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

As we move closer to the end of the quarter, and gather to celebrate this special time of year, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude. As I continue to visit your department homes, I am thankful for the kindness you have shown me, and the memories we are creating together. May your Thanksgiving be filled with warmth, love, and joy.

I have several updates to provide that will move us effectively towards 2025. First, we have now finalized the list of members of the Academic Senate ad hoc committee for the establishment of our new Senate "Crisis Response Committee" (in quotes because the name is still to be finalized). I am glad to share this information with you:

Senate Members
Chair:  Mark H. Tuszynski, Neurosciences
Andrea A. Chiba, Cognitive Science
Eric Halgren, Radiology
Makeba Jones, Education Studies
Grant Kester, Visual Arts
Ramesh Rao, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Administrative Consultants
Jeffrey P. Gattas, Associate Chancellor and Chief of Staff
Judy E. Kim, Interim Dean, Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs
Kelly Kish, Associate Chancellor
Daniel W. Park, Campus Counsel
Alysson M. Satterlund, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs and Campus Life
Wayne Yang, Provost, Muir College

I am grateful to the members of the ad hoc for agreeing to serve. You are undertaking a great service to our campus! I especially want to thank Professor Mark H. Tuszynski, who has agreed to serve as Chair. An initial meeting of the ad hoc will take place soon, and the work will then begin in earnest. Details on how to provide feedback and comments to the ad hoc will be forthcoming.

I also share that a tentative agreement between the University of California and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) regarding an extension of the current Academic Student Employee (TAs, Readers, Tutors) and Graduate Student Researcher (GSRs) contract is being finalized. The University and the UAW have been working on a potential contract extension that would be mutually beneficial. Having reached an agreement, which is pending a ratification vote by UAW members, I can share with you that the current contract may be extended to January 1, 2026. One of the most important consequences of this extension would be to ensure that contracts will no longer expire during finals and commencement, a particularly sensitive time for us. Below is a letter from UC System Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Katherine S. Newman to systemwide Academic Senate Chair Steven Cheung. The letter is also posted on the Senate website with an attachment containing questions and answers related to this contract extension.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to those of you that attended our first Town Hall to discuss the Interim Campus Policies on Permissible Conduct on Campus. The discussion was fruitful and highly informative. We have one more Town Hall scheduled for this upcoming Friday, November 22, from 2:30 to 4:00 PM in the Biomedical Science Building’s Liebow Auditorium (in person; register to attend). Let us continue these important conversations. Join us!

And we do have a Senate Happy Hour this Thursday, November 21, at 4:30 PM in the Faculty Club. Join us for Happy Hour also!

I take this opportunity to share a short poem I wrote in gratitude to you during the holidays:

I give thanks for all we've learned,
For every page, for every book.
For strength in struggle, peace in strain,
For family, friendship, community and earth.

In this Thanksgiving, let us note,
The countless blessings given forth,
And find in each a joy to share,
A special moment, a kinder smile.

To you my colleagues, my friends, my mates,
Thank you all for these three months,
At UC San Diego we move ahead,
with promise of unity, hope and faith.

Happy Thanksgiving! Blessings and cheer.
In La Jolla, let there be peace.

If you would like to connect, you can reach me at senatechair@ucsd.edu. I am here to listen, and I am here to serve.

In gratitude,

Olivia A. Graeve
Chair, San Diego Divisional Academic Senate

The letter from Provost Katherine S. Newman below is sent on behalf of systemwide Academic Senate Chair Steven Cheung. It is also posted on the San Diego Divisional Academic Senate’s website.

November 15, 2024

ACADEMIC COUNCIL CHAIR STEVEN CHEUNG

Dear Academic Council Chair Cheung:

I am writing to you regarding a tentative agreement between the University of California and International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) regarding a contract extension on the Academic Student Employee (TAs, Readers, Tutors) and Graduate Student Researcher (GSRs) collective bargaining agreements.

As we recently discussed with Academic Council and the Faculty Advisory Committee on Graduate Education and Employment, the University and the UAW has been working on a confidential basis with union leadership on a potential contract extension that would be mutually beneficial. This process allowed the parties to discuss privately whether a short extension would be possible but also limited our ability to engage in substantive discussions with valued stakeholders about the negotiations. Having reached an agreement – which is pending a ratification vote by UAW members – we are now at liberty to bring our faculty colleagues into this conversation. (Fortunately, the confidentiality provisions will not exist for the next round of successor bargaining and we look forward to extensive stakeholder engagement at that time.)

On the afternoon of November 15, 2024, the parties reached a tentative agreement that adds additional months to the existing agreement and hence extends the contract expiration date from May 31, 2025, to January 1, 2026. One of the most important consequences of this change would be to ensure that the contracts will no longer expire during finals and commencement, a particularly sensitive time for all of our campuses.

Graduate student employees receive their annual salary range adjustment on an October-September cycle, with the general range adjustment effective on October 1 annually. If ratified, the agreement calls for ASE and GSR salary scales to be range adjusted by 4% on October 1, 2025, which is an on-cycle range adjustment. Nothing about this contract extension changes the normal salary range adjustment cycle or process for graduate student employees.

Beyond the salary scales, a novel feature of this agreement involves the creation of a pilot “transition position program.” This was a particularly important concern for the UAW. It will provide for a very limited number of graduate student employees to apply for a transitional position if they have an irreparable employment-related conflict with their supervisor, or if their supervisor has left the University. This pilot program sunsets with the rest of the agreement on January 1, 2026. Other than these two revisions to the ASE and GSR collective bargaining agreements, all other terms remain the same.

This modest contract extension benefits both faculty and students, including undergraduate students. Through consultation with Academic Senate committees, including Academic Council, Academic Personnel (UCAP), Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs (CCGA), Faculty Welfare (UCFW), and the newly formed Faculty Advisory Committee on Graduate Education and Employment, we know that the current contract expiration date of May 2025 is potentially disruptive, especially vis a vis the administration of final examinations and commencement activities. With this contract extension, we are moving toward a January expiration cycle rather than a May cycle.

Moving the expiration date to January 1, 2026, also lays the groundwork for more productive bargaining. With this additional time, we will be working closely, and in collaboration with, the faculty representatives to the bargaining team, as well as the faculty advisory committee established by the Academic Senate, to engage in robust preparations.

There are also consequential legal disputes between the parties that we believe will be resolved this Spring, including disputes around recognition and the “no strikes” clause. The resolution of these issues is likely to impact bargaining proposals; having resolution prior to bargaining will allow us to be better prepared at the table.

Attached to this letter is a set of questions and answers to provide further information on this contract extension. I ask that you share my letter and the Q&A attachment with the divisional Senate Chairs to distribute broadly to all faculty. [link to the full letter with the Q&A attachment]

Finally, I wish to thank you, and our faculty colleagues, for providing expertise and advice as we began consulting over the past few months in preparation for negotiations. We believe that this has substantially improved the process and enhanced our collective understanding of faculty concerns, which is precisely what the establishment of these consultative bodies was intended to accomplish. I look forward to finding common ground with our union colleagues to reach a successful agreement once negotiations begin in earnest next summer.

Thank you for your time and dedication to our academic community.

Best wishes,

Katherine S. Newman
UC System Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Public Policy