UC wants to implement the Tier 2 pension and retiree health benefits July 1, 2013. The bargaining leading up to that date will determine what UPTE members receive. UPTE will work closely with other unions who will also negotiate what their members’ benefits will look like.

Members want more information and UPTE needs to find out what members think about the changes UC has proposed. In the first months of 2012, we will conduct an educational survey about all the details of the benefits changes. If you have not yet completed the survey, contact your local UPTE activists or staff to get a copy.

We need to better understand the actual costs and detailed benefits UC offers. UPTE is working with other unions to analyze the data we have finally forced UC to provide so that we can do our own calculations and verify the assumptions that UC makes. We will get assistance from our national union to do the actuarial computations.

UPTE will begin dialog with UC in mid-2012 to explore possible benefit solutions. We understand that these plans are complex and will require considerable work to get approved at all the levels of UC’s bureaucracy up to the Regents. We need to start advocating and pressuring for the solutions that we want early.

A bargaining conference late in 2012 will set the priorities for UPTE's bargaining. The delegates at the bargaining conference are elected from the membership at each campus. Actual bargaining will begin at the start of 2013.