Both items in this bulletin require urgent and simple action. A strong response will make a big difference for all of us!

Contents:
(1) Legislators Fight to Support Higher Education! More Pay for Staff?
(2) UCSD Labor Relations Union-Busting Campaign Hits New Low: Issue intent to fire San Diego UPTE President

(1) Legislators Fight to Support Higher Education! More Pay for Staff?
Legislators in Sacramento have taken up the cause of defending higher education from the dramatic cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The governor has proposed an increase of 2.41% in community college funding, while slashing budgets for UC and CSU for another year, with promises of funding increases in coming years.

UPTE-CWA believes all the public college systems of California deserve support – including UC. Go to http://www.upte-cwa.org/govLetter.html and send an automated email or fax to Governor Schwarzenegger calling on him to support all of higher education. If you can, please send a fax – it has much greater impact. Just print out your letter and fax it to: (916) 445-4633.

Sending your letter in the next week will add to the already substantial pressure on the governor.

California 's students and other state residents have launched an effective and sustained campaign to defend our university. In addition to funding increases for UC, UPTE-CWA supports the maintenance of full access and enrollment and a limitation on fee increases. This must be a university for all Californians, not just the very wealthy.

(2) UCSD Labor Relations Union-Busting Campaign Hits New Low: Issue intent to fire San Diego UPTE President
For decades, UCSD Labor Relations has aggressively attacked employee rights -- from penalizing union leaders and violating their basic freedom of speech to holding up bargaining of contracts on a statewide level. Union leaders from all UC unions have been harassed and retaliated against for their union activity. Labor Relations at UCSD is known throughout the UC system (even among high level administrators) for their outdated, rabidly anti-union and anti-employee bias.

Last week, this union-busting campaign culminated in the issuing of an “intent to dismiss” letter for San Diego UPTE President Carolan Buckmaster. Her alleged crime is communicating with members in the work place about bargaining and other union matters. UPTE-CWA has a legal obligation to represent and communicate with all the individuals that pay dues, and will vigorously defend our right to respectfully and appropriately keep all UC employees we represent informed.

UC would rather that UPTE representatives like Carolan Buckmaster, not educate members. It apparently doesn't want UC employees do not receive information about how they can improve their wages and working conditions.

Please send an email to our acting chancellor (Marsha Chandler) and the incoming chancellor (Marye Anne Fox) that the “intent to dismiss” must be rescinded immediately and a full investigation and review of all actions taken by the UCSD Labor Relations office be opened immediately. You can send the email quickly and easily from our website: http://www.upte.org/UCSDchancellors.html.