University of California officials announced today (Feb. 16) that UC clerical employees have ratified a new multi-year contract through Sept. 30, 2008.
 
Under the agreement, UC's clerical employees will receive wage increases of approximately 12 percent over the next three years contingent upon state funding, including a 3.5 percent increase retroactive to Oct. 1, 2005, when other UC employees received increases. UC's library assistants and other clerical employees will receive additional market equity increases for the first two years of the agreement to help address salary lags.
 
"We are pleased to have this agreement ratified and to finally be able to provide our clerical employees well-deserved salary increases," said Howard Pripas, UC executive director of labor relations. "This agreement helps the university with its goal of providing market-competitive total compensation to all UC employees."
 
The agreement allows UC clerical employees to continue to receive the same high level of health benefits given to all UC employees and maintains the university's salary-based approach to health care premiums whereby those who earn less, pay less for the same health coverage.  
 
The new contract also prohibits the clerical employees' union from conducting any strikes against the university, including strikes in sympathy with other unions for the life of the agreement.
 
The new contract with the clerical employees was the fourth labor agreement recently ratified at UC in recent months. Since December, UC's nurses, librarians, and research support and technical employees have all ratified new multi-year contracts.
 
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