APC Kicks Off Negotiations for a New Contract with the CSU
When CSU representatives entered the conference room to greet the APC Bargaining Team and initiate bargaining for our new contract, they immediately noticed and commented on the expanded APC Team. Earlier this year, the APC Steward Council voted to add four additional Bargaining Team members, broadening an already diverse and representative team even further. Here is the APC Bargaining Team for our 2024 negotiations:
- Dago Argueta (San Francisco): APC President
- Lee Norris: APC Labor Relations Manager and Chief Spokesperson
- Christine McCarthy (Fullerton): Bargaining Chairperson
- Patrick Choi (Bakersfield): APC Vice President
- Rose Duran (San Luis Obispo): APC Recording Secretary
- Mario Baeza (San Bernardino): APC Council Member-At-Large
- Daryl Evans (Dominguez Hills)
- Tammy Worthington (Stanislaus)
- Sam Tran (East Bay)
- Juno Palau (San Diego)
- Chris Beck (Fresno)
- Ashley Riley (Fullerton)
- Krystal Flores (Pomona)
- Cynthia Brown: APC Labor Relations Representative
- Bill Cruice: APC Labor Relations Representative
In our first bargaining session, CSU maintained their usual approach by not making many significant proposals and by not substantially responding to the APC Team’s initial proposals. Here is a brief overview of the proposals made by the APC Bargaining Team on May 16-17.
Please note, we have strategically decided to delay introducing our proposal on salary experience recognition and other major economic issues until a future bargaining session.
Major Proposals by APC
Article 13 – Appointment
- Improve employee representation on hiring committees.
- Guarantee interviews for qualified Unit 4 applicants.
- Establish hiring preference for qualified Unit 4 applicants.
- Affirm employees’ rights to transfer their accrued vacation when moving to another CSU campus.
Article 14 – Probation/Permanency
- Reduce the number of “temporary” employees by restricting such hiring to departments relying on “soft” money funding.
- Clarify that campus Presidents can act on calls to reduce probationary periods.
Article 16 – Professional Development
- Enhance educational opportunities throughout Unit 4.
- Restore the full tuition fee waiver benefit for those enrolled in doctorate programs.
- Improve and clarify rules for granting paid release time to attend courses.
Article 20 – Vacation/Personal Leave
- Increase the number of vacation days, particularly for junior employees.
- Increase paid days off for parental leave.
- Improve the vacation approval process.
Article 18 – Evaluation
- Clarify appropriate information for use in employee evaluations.
Article 28 – Hours of Work
- Clarify what constitutes “working hours” while traveling on university business.
Article 32 – Work Environment
- Ensure timely responses to workplace health and safety concerns.
- Ensure fair parking rates with modest year-over-year increases.
Article 34 – Length of Contract
- The APC Bargaining Team has withheld its preference for the contract length for now.
The CSU Bargaining Team made several proposals during the two-day sessions, but they did not address salary experience recognition or job security. Some of their proposals included incorporating updates to state law regarding unpaid family leave and making minor changes to grievance and layoff procedures. Notably, the CSU proposed removing the union’s right to bypass time-consuming mediation and impasse procedures to initiate an immediate strike, a proposal that the APC Bargaining Team found unacceptable.
It’s a familiar pattern in CSU contract negotiations for their representatives to claim financial hardship, suggesting that they lack the funds for improvements and may even seek concessions from the union. As experienced negotiators, we always verify their financial claims and usually find them to be overstated. Ultimately, the outcome of contract negotiations hinges on our collective actions as a union.
We will keep you abreast of developments as they occur in future bargaining sessions, but would like to ask non-members to help the work of the APC Team by joining the Union.
In Union,
APC Bargaining Team