It seems the greed and corruption that is taking stronghold in the White House isn’t isolated.  The same greed and corruption is seeping into the UC system.  UC San Diego claims it’s mission is “transforming California and a diverse global society by educating, by generating and disseminating knowledge and creative works, and by engaging in public service,” and whose vision for the future is to “prepare the next generation of global leaders to channel their passions into driving innovation, fueling economic growth and making our world a better place.”  In spite of it’s mission, every step UC administrators have been making so far has gone against it, and their mission to make a world a better place only impacts a selected few, the wealthy and privileged.

UC wants to run the school like a business, cutting people out from the bottom line and prioritizing profits over people.  On May 10, 2018 UC San Diego had to sign a settlement agreement to settle claims of bias against immigrant workers as they improperly asked immigrant workers to reverify their employment authorization, based on their citizenship status.

Last year, UC President, Janet Napolitano, was involved in a scandal as a probing investigation found her top aides interfered with a state audit on her office’s finances.  The audit found that Napolitano’s office paid excessive salaries and benefits to its top executives and did not disclose to the UC Boards of Regents, the Legislature and the public $175 million in budget reserve funds.  In light of the criticism, Napolitano decided to overhaul her office proposing potential cuts of $50 million from the office’s $883 million budget and 110 of about 1,7890 positions or by cutting $42 million and 99 positions.  That’s a lot of people to be affected by an embezzlement that benefited the top few.  In a town hall meeting regarding the cuts, one questioner commented, “I’m so angry.  Livelihoods are at stake,” pleading for affirmation that officials would make good decisions rather than “look out for their own interest and self-preservation.”

UC officials are riddled with looking out for their own interest instead of the interest of students and workers.  In January, I received a bargaining update from the Sr. Director or Labor Relations & Employee Relations.  The director lied about UPTE wanting to settle a contract, saying our demands were unreasonable.  Here was my response:

“The 401K type retirement savings plan that UC wants to replace is unlikely to provide sufficient funds for retirees.  We already have the 401K as a supplement so why is UC trying so hard to shift public employees into the 401K plan, having us opt-out of our pension?  This 401k option with Fidelity forces employees into higher risk with lower returns via pathway funds, and the end result shortchanges UC employees, enriching Fidelity at our expense.   Paul Singer, who manages $250 million for the UCRP, made $400 million in 2016, and he donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee.  It’s a huge problem when UC works with hedge funds and private equity to payout $10 billion annually in public pensions to Wall Street fees.

We want UC to listen to UPTE representatives and stop stalling at the bargaining table.  Our representatives have fought and continues to fight to protect our pension and fair cost-of-living raises as well as longevity step increases.  The 2% wage increase is actually a step down to what is a fair contract, and UC’s claim that it ensures salaries remain market competitive is simply not true.

The UPTE bargaining team has asked for what UC pays in Fidelity fees.  So why does UC not settle????”

 

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