The Unit 9 group of employees represent one of the largest, and most diverse group of employees within the entire CSU system. From boat captains to firefighters, and even fish aquarium cleaners, Unit 9 represents them all! The most common job titles within Unit 9 classification are the ITC and ESS employees, but Unit 9 represents almost 1/3 of all the employees here on campus.
It does not matter if you're a CSUEU member or fee payer, the CSUEU contract provides you with particular rights as an employee. If you have any questions regarding either the Union, or a work issue on campus, please contact Rich McGee, our chapter's Unit 9 Representative, at 909-537-7275.
The following are but a few suggestions that members have given to me. If you've got any more, please send them in, so I can post them here, and we can discuss them in greater detail.
Technology and Training
Our jobs are in an almost constant state of growth and change, but how much training time do you receive from your supervisor? Some campus managers who understand and appreciate the value of training will actually set aside several hours a week for employee self-study. They also are willing to pay for employees to attend technical courses and conferences. The poorer supervisors, the ones who don't know better, tell their employees "learn this on your own time." They should know better than to say this to their employees. We have lives and interests outside of campus as well. When a young manager tells this to an older employee, are they hinting at age descrimination?
Workload
A huge issue. The Union receives more complaints about workload issues than any other topic. This will be addressed as a critical need by me here on campus.
Salary Increases
Yes, it is true that we're not paid nearly as much as we could make in private industry. But there are a variety of ways that you can increase your base salary, including a job reclassification, an IRP, a bonus, a stipend or even a retention bonus if you're thinking about leaving. Each of these will be discussed in future pages here.
Performance Reviews
At CSUSB, performance reviews are conducted on an annual basis (usually due in June), and each year, I get dozens of complaints from employees that their bosses did not follow the contract. This has to stop. I'll put additional performance review links on this page as soon as possible.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing refers to having someone who isn't a state employee perform your work. Outsourcing can be small (Hiring a student assistant to create a website instead of a staff member) or large (The CMS data center in Utah has cost the state $114 million dollars, so far, for "managing" slightly more than 100 file servers. Currently, there are several outsourcing plans being developed on campus. If you hear of any, please report them to a steward. Our contract is weak regarding preventing outsourcing, but there are steps we can take to attempt to mitigate the effects of it.
Bad Bosses/Supervisors
Sadly, there isn't much that the Union can do if you are stuck working for a bad boss. It isn't a violation of the contract to have a boss who would rather hire his friend than promote you. Yes, it is unfair, but it also happens on campus, far more often than people might realize. However, there are a variety of coping skills that you can use to "manage" a bad boss, and attempt to make peace in your office. If that fails, I'd recommend that you talk to the campus Ombudsman about your issue. They can usually help.
Fee Waiver
The contract gives all represented employees the right to take two classes per term under the fee waiver option. However, some managers don't understand this, and attempt to deny permission for this, or tell you that you "have to" take courses at night. This is wrong, and this could be a contract violation. If this is happening to you, please contact a steward, or call me at x77275.
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