On this page, you will find links to detailed information regarding a number of important labor-relations topics. For most of these topics, there are links to an in-depth “handout,” a “lesson plan” that provides a brief summary and a PowerPoint “presentation.” You can use these materials for self-study or to educate other members of your chapter. APC’s labor-relations team will continue to add information on topics over time, so be sure to re-visit this page periodically.
REVISED: In-Range Progression and Reclassification
In the absence of a general salary increase, an in-range progression or a reclassification are often the only ways for Unit 4 members to increase their salaries. However, both are “non-grievable,” i.e., if management denies either one of them, you generally cannot file a grievance or otherwise challenge the decision. The materials below explain that, nevertheless, management cannot–as it often does–impose new conditions on in-range progression requests, such as that only management–but not employees — can file such requests with Human Resources, or that twelve months have to elapse between requests. The materials below also explain that, while the denial of a reclassification is not grievable as such, the assignment of job duties belonging to a higher classification may nevertheless be grievable as a de-facto temporary assignment to the higher classification.
Also consult the appropriate Classification Standards when seeking an in-range progression or reclassification:
Information Requests
We’ve all been there: You know there’s something rotten in the State of CSU, but you can’t prove it because you do not have the evidence. If only you could lay your hands on it… The following materials will help you get the information you need, be it through informal means, such as surfing the internet, or through formal information requests pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, or the California Public Records Act.
Leaves
A variety of paid and unpaid leaves are available to Unit 4 employees when they are sick, face a family emergency, or “need a break” for other reasons. However, this multitude of leave programs and how they interact with each other can be confusing. Moreover, one type of leave – Family and Medical Leave or “FML” – now runs “concurrently” with, e.g., sick leave, meaning that you “lose” unpaid FML when you use paid sick leave. Learn how to make the most of your leaves by studying the following materials:
Discipline
California law and the APC-CSU Collective Bargaining Agreement give you important rights if the CSU wants to discipline you. For example, you have the right to have an APC representative present at any investigatory interview that you reasonably believe could lead to discipline. Click on the following links for more information about these rights.
Print out one of the “Weingarten Rights” cards below and keep them, e.g., in your wallet so that you can invoke your right to APC representation in case you are called in for an investigatory interview.
Exempt and Non-Exempt Employees
Whether you are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 hours per week depends on whether you are classified as an “exempt” or “non-exempt” employee under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. However, under the APC-CSU Collective Bargaining Agreement, even exempt employees have the right to an average work week of 40 hours over six months. Moreover, “Residence Life” employees have the right to credit or compensation for “on-call” and “call-back” duties. These and related issues are explained in the following materials.
Layoffs
Within each classification in each department, management must lay off all temporary employees before it can lay off any probationary employees, and it must lay off all probationary employees before it can lay off any permanent employees. Permanent employees have seniority and reemployment rights, and probationary and permanent employees have bumping rights. Read more about these important rights here:
Unemployment
If you are partially or completely laid off, you may be entitled to unemployment insurance benefits. Moreover, most temporary and probationary 10-month and AY employees are eligible for unemployment benefits during the summer, even if they are re-employed in the fall! The links below provide more information about these entitlements.