October 21, 2021

President Michael V. Drake
Office of the President
University of California
1111 Franklin St., 12th Floor
Oakland, CA 94607

Delivered via Email to: president@ucop.edu

Dear President Drake,

We write to you as the leadership of the Council of UC Faculty Associations, CUCFA, the systemwide organization of Senate faculty that created the Pledge of Solidarity with our Lecturer Colleagues. Over 750 Senate faculty, from all 10 campuses, have now signed that Pledge, demonstrating tremendous solidarity with the lecturers as they negotiate a new contract.

For the first time in over 20 years, and after two years of negotiations, our lecturer colleagues, represented by UC-AFT, have voted with an overwhelming majority of 96% to authorize a strike. Senate faculty have indicated they are standing in solidarity with them. Indeed, 9 out of 10 of those signing the Pledge have said they will respect the lecturers’ picket line should they go out on strike. There is no doubt that a strike would be incredibly disruptive; it can only be averted if you return to the table and engage in good faith bargaining.

The University of California depends on the 6,800 lecturers it employs: they teach one-third of undergraduate hours across the system and more than half on some campuses. Three out of four lecturers work on short-term contracts with no job stability, no fair and consistent evaluation process, and no contractual assurance that they’ll be considered for renewal. Their median annual salary is $19,067, even as UC campuses are located in regions with some of the highest living costs in the country. Most departments would not be able to mount their curricula without the skilled labor of these dedicated educators.

We support the lecturers’ fight to strengthen job stability, improve wages and benefits, and ensure fair compensation and workload that reflects their training, experience, and contributions to the UC. Stabilizing the teaching workforce would not only be fair and just, but it also would benefit UC students who deserve this investment in high-quality education.

The quality of undergraduate education at the University of California depends upon all its faculty, lecturers included. Our lecturer colleagues’ working conditions are our students’ learning conditions.

Again, we ask you to return to negotiations and engage in good faith bargaining that concludes with a fair contract. We will see you at the open bargaining session on Friday, October 22, 11 am-1 pm.

Sincerely,
Constance Penley, CUCFA President, Professor of Film and Media Studies UC Santa Barbara
Wendy Matsumura, CUCFA Vice President, Associate Professor of History UC San Diego
For the CUCFA Executive Board