Political Refugee From Poland Files Whistleblower Retaliation Case Against UC Davis
Jaroslaw “Jerry” Waszczuk fled communist Poland and arrived in the United States as an asylum seeker who…
Insider Exclusive Investigative Network Features Local Whistleblower Case
UC Davis employee fired after divulging illegal human research performed on San Quentin inmates (from press release)…
UC Davis Whistleblower Case About to Go to Trial After More than Four Years
It was September, 2009, when the Vanguard first published the account of Janet Keyzer, who filed suit…
Dolores Huerta to Speak at Freeborn Hall
13th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Youth Leadership Conference at UC Davis on April 13
UC Davis, CA – Close to 500 middle and high school students will converge on the UC Davis campus for the 13th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Youth Leadership Conference and Celebration on Saturday, April 13, 2013 in Freeborn Hall and Wellman Hall.
The conference will include an Arts, Education, Health and Job Fair. For over a decade, this event has provided guidance to youth seeking to pursue higher education and grant information. Dolores Huerta will speak around 12:45pm in Freeborn Hall.
UC Davis Employee Contends Non-Union Workers Have Received Raises All Along, In Contrast to President Yudof’s Claims
On August 20, the Vanguard reported on the continued audacity of the University of California, who announced that week that they will spend approximately 140 million dollars that was raised from increasing student tuition to give merit raises to thousands of faculty members and nonunion employees earning up to 200,000 dollars.
Carol Crabill, a union-represented staff member in the mathematics department at UC Davis, directs us to her piece that appears in the LA Times this week in response to the Times’ August 18 article on the raises for non-union workers.
UC Workers Propose Alternative Ways To Save Money Preserve Jobs
UC workers maintain that they are opposed to state cuts to higher education, but have suggested hundreds of millions in cost-saving measures to protect student services on campuses and quality patient care at UC Medical Centers, in the face of a 500-million-dollar decrease in state funding.
They argue that UC executives’ current plans to cover the shortfall have focused on limiting enrollment of qualified California students while increasing out of state admissions, consolidating academic programs and cutting frontline line workers hours and benefits.
UC Davis Whistleblower Tells Her Story Trying to Help Empower Others Suffering the Same Fate
Last week at the Davis Avid Reader, Amy Block Joy spoke publicly about her four-year-long ordeal, having reported malfeasance in her own department at UC Davis and the treatment she received from her colleagues and the university as a whole.
As she told the audience, she became a Whistleblower in August of 2006, and was asked to be silent while the investigation was taking place. As a result of that isolation, she wrote a book about her experiences.
Chancellor Katehi Responds To Pension Demands
Last week, we reported that a group of 36 University of California executives, including four of UC Davis’ top officials, wrote the Board of Regents demanding that UC implement a proposal from 1999 that would lift the compensation limit used in calculating retirement benefits – which would lead to a drastic increase in benefits for some of the system’s most highly compensated employees.
In their letter, the UC executives indicated their intent to sue UC if the board failed to implement the change. While only 36 signed the letter, the increased pension benefits would affect about 200 UC executives.
Commentary: UC Executives Threaten Lawsuit Over Pensions?
I think this falls under the category of really? Are you kidding me? But what has happened in the last week is that some of UC’s highest-paid employees – their executives – are now threatening to sue the UC system if the system does not boost their retirement pensions.
That is right, 36 employees making at least $245,000 per year have written a letter calling on UC to fulfill a promise to increase their pensions – this in the midst of the UC’s efforts to overhaul a system to make up for a $20-billion deficit caused by a 20-year hiatus in contributions to the fund.
UC Fixes Their Own Pension Problems – On the Backs of Students
The bad news is that UC students will have to absorb another 8-percent tuition hike. To make matters worse, that tuition hike will mainly go to cover the UC system’s massive pension bill – about $175 million for this year.
In other words, students are being asked to flip the bill so that their professors and UC administrators can retire with their full pension benefits, despite the fact that they failed to pay into the system over the last decade.
Inexplicable UC Executive Pay Bonuses Draw Fire Once Again
On Thursday, UC’s Board of Regents approved roughly 3.1 million dollars in incentive to 38 senior medical executives for meeting their 2009 performance goals. The payouts would range from 30,000 to 220,000 dollars in bonuses. The move comes six months after top executives received a 25 percent pay hike.
Amazingly according to multiple reports the incentive was simply the reduction of infection in hospitals which triggers tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in bonus pay. According to a release:
With Furloughs and Fees Hikes Underway, UC Under Major Scrutiny
With the University of California imposing a 32% fee increase to students and implementing furloughs and layoffs as a means to cut costs, the UC System is now under increased scrutiny from a variety of fronts. On November 23, 2009, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) issued a complaint regarding unfair labor practices and bad faith negotiations.
This week, UC Associate Vice President for Information Resources and Communications, David Ernst was exposed for for misusing $150,000 in public moneys to finance lavish overseas trips, meals, and stays at expensive resorts under the guise of official business while he was employed at the California State University.
Executive Pay Increase for UC Executives Stirs More Controversy
Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle unleashed quite a stir with an article that reported that while the UC Board of Regents was voting to cut millions from UC Budgets through furloughs, pay cuts, layoffs, student fee hikes, and other campus cutbacks, they were also approving pay raises, stipends, and other benefits for more than two dozen executives.
Wrote the Chronicle on August 7, 2009:
Furlough Plan by UC Met with Mix of Support and Opposition
University of California professors and staff would have to take between 11 and 26 furlough days a year according to a new proposal announced Friday by UC President Mark Yudof. These unpaid days would amount to a 4 to 10 percent pay cut per year.
Professors would not be allowed to skip classes as part of their furlough days, but students will still feel an impact with the furloughs, staff layoffs, and program reductions.
UC Rearchers and Technical Employees Urge Good Faith Bargaining by UC
Wednesday at all ten University of California campuses, researchers and technical employees making up the UPTE Union conducted pickets and other informational actions at the UC Campuses.
According to a release from UPTE, UC is prioritizing huge salaries and salary increases for top executives rather than the basic funding to keep the university providing high quality research and education.
UC Service Workers Come To Contract Agreement
Take First Step Out of Poverty with Historic Contract
UC DavisAfter more than seven months since a week of strikes press for new negotiations, over 8500 UC Services workers reached agreement with the University of California that union officials lauded as the first step to lift thousands of families out of poverty. The agreement includes significant wage increases, a pay system that rewards seniority and a first time ever statewide minimum wage for their job classifications.
Friday Strike Update
UC DavisToday is the final day of the UC service workers’ strike. After five days of picketing across the state at 10 UC campuses and five medical centers, the 8500 striking workers will begin returning to their jobs at the end of the day.
According to a statement from AFSCME 3299:
“Though the strike has produced an outpouring of public and political support, UC executives have given no indication that they are willing to lift workers from poverty.”
Wednesday Strike Update
UC DavisThe strike will continue today for a third day. There were a number of interesting developments yesterday.
Community members from across the state donated groceries and provided food assistance to the strikers who are struggling to make ends meet to begin with and now face disciplinary action for the striking.
More on the UC Worker Strike
Overall, day one of the strike seemed to go as planned. The university threatened letters of reprimand…
Service Workers Strike At UC Davis
This morning, across the state thousands of service workers went on strike against the UC system seeking…