June 26, 2003

ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES

Re: UPTE Petition for Certification — Administrative Professionals

The University Professional and Technical Employees/Communication Workers of America (UPTE/CWA), a labor organization/union, has filed a petition for certification with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) requesting that it conduct a secret ballot election to decide if certain University of California administrative professional employees wish to be exclusively represented by UPTE (see list of petitioned-for titles).

Under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA), all non-managerial, non-confidential employees have the right to form, join and participate in union activities, or to refuse to do so.

A union may become the exclusive representative to bargain terms and conditions of employment on behalf of a particular employee group, or bargaining unit, through a secret ballot election process supervised by PERB, the State agency that administers HEERA and other public sector labor laws.

Over the past year, UPTE has been collecting signatures on authorization or interest cards. For a union to activate the process for exclusive representation of a bargaining unit, it must first obtain at least 30% of the proposed unit members' signatures. The petition to PERB states that UPTE has collected the necessary signatures.

PERB must determine whether or not UPTE has the required proof of support and then determine the appropriate bargaining unit configuration in which an election will be held. This process will involve deciding which job titles will be included or excluded, whether the unit will be systemwide or, possibly, some other configuration, and whether certain employees are managers, supervisors or confidential employees and, thus, excluded form the bargaining unit. Once the bargaining unit is determined, it is likely that an election will be set which PERB will supervise and conduct. A simple majority of votes cast decides the election. If the union is elected, it will become the exclusive representative for employees in the specified bargaining unit. Exclusive representation means all employees in the bargaining unit will be bound by the terms of the labor contract negotiated between UPTE and the University. If "no representation" is the majority selection, the employees' current employment relationship and terms and conditions of employment will continue and no other petition will be accepted for at least one year.

Attached, for your information, is "Frequently Asked Questions About Union Representation." In addition, voluntary informational meetings for affected employees have been scheduled for July 9 from 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and July 11 from a 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Bay Tree Conference Room D. Labor Relations Office staff will provide a review of the process for selecting and certifying an exclusive representative under HEERA and discuss who administrative professionals are and the implications of forming a bargaining unit of those titles.

Sincerely,

Willeen McQuitta
Director
Staff Human Resources

cc: Vice Chancellor Vani
Labor Relations Manager Listmann