UC's Discriminatory Pay Policies Cause Financial Distress to Employees

SAN DIEGO, April 1, 2011 -- Clerical and allied services workers of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) protested the university's discriminatory policies at the Clinton Global Initiative University annual meeting held on campus today.

The workers have been fighting for a fair contract with the university for more than three years. Discriminatory pay policies and the lack of a contract have caused serious financial difficulties for the clerical workers, most of whom are female, minority and single head of households.

"The university has increased my health insurance co-payment and gas for my car has gone up but I haven't received a raise in over four years," said Debra Rush, an employee in UCSD's Student Health Department.

Despite leaving the clerical workers contract unsettled, the university has authorized new contracts, including wage increases, to other employee groups across the state.

CUE/Teamsters Local 2010 members handed out leaflets to attendees of the Clinton Global Initiative University to educate them on the struggles of workers on the San Diego campus and across the state.

"UC should be ashamed of itself for its duplicity," said Dorthea Stewart, a UCSD employee and member of CUE/Teamsters Local 2010. "It violates labor laws and refuses to offer us fair wages for the work that we do even as it continues to construct new multimillion-dollar buildings and give bonuses to administrators."

CUE/Teamsters Local 2010 represents 14,000 clerical and allied service employees at all University of California campuses across the state and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The union's members, who make important contributions to education, research, and public service, work at medical centers, labs, the professional schools, and various UC departments.