The temporary restraining order is available online at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/PERBtemproAFSCME.pdf.
AFSCME represents UC patient care and service employees, and the university has been in separate negotiations with the union for new contracts for both employee groups since last year.
"Hopefully, today's court ruling, and the recent complaint against the union by the Public Employment Relations Board, will motivate the union to refocus its attention on settling these negotiations" said Howard Pripas, executive director of labor relations at UC. "Our proposals are fair and responsive to many of the union's expressed concerns, and our employees deserve to have these negotiations resolved."
On Wednesday, July 9, the Public Employment Relations Board, the state agency responsible for overseeing collective bargaining for public sector employers, issued a complaint against AFSCME for bad-faith bargaining, for failing to give adequate notice of a planned strike, and for encouraging employees to participate in a strike against UC facilities even though their absence from work would clearly endanger the public's safety.
UC has offered the union numerous proposals, the latest of which include minimum wage increases of 26 percent over the next five years for patient care employees, and increases in minimum hourly rates for service employees from $10.28 to $11.50 or $12.00 depending on location. UC has also offered to transition these employees to a step-based salary structure, which was proposed by the union, and to continue to provide them the same high quality health and pension benefits offered to all UC employees, at the same cost as other employees.
The university expects AFSCME members to obey the court order and report to work as scheduled.
AFSCME represents approximately 11,000 UC patient care technical and 8,000 service employees.
More information about these negotiations can be found at:
www.ucpatientcaretechs.com
atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/collective_bargaining_units/service_sx/bargaining_update.html