The University of California announced today (Oct. 15) that it has reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers to extend for one year their existing contract covering more than 6,500 postdoctoral scholars.
UC and the UAW agreed to extend their 2010 contract through Sept. 30, 2016. The U.S. Department of Labor sets the salary threshold for professional exempt employees, a category that includes postdoc scholars, and is proposing to increase the minimum threshold for such workers to be exempt from overtime. Given uncertainties over the proposed change, timing and final dollar amount, the parties agreed to the contract extension.
Members of the union are expected to vote on the tentative agreement within the next two weeks.
The parties agreed to modifications to the current contract and also decided to form a committee to explore options for providing childcare assistance to postdoc scholars.
Highlights of the contract extension include:
- Wages: The university would continue to follow the National Institutes of Health pay scale, which historically has resulted in an increase of about 6 percent per year. This includes an annual cost of living adjustment and the approximate 4 percent step increase postdocs receive upon annual reappointment or anniversary.
- Health care: The university would offer quality affordable health care benefits in which the postdocs’ share of the premium would remain low and UC would cover at least 95 percent of the cost, depending on the health plan.
- International postdocs on visas: The university and the union strengthened contract language to ensure that international postdocs who have been dismissed and must leave the country are able to participate in the arbitration process in which their dismissal is at issue.
- Childcare: The parties agreed to create a committee of university and union representatives to explore options on the provision of childcare assistance to postdocs.
The university and union had been in negotiations since May. They will return to the bargaining table in June 2016 to begin negotiations for a new agreement.