Home < Policies, Employee & Labor Relations < Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining < Background on Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining at the University < Collective Bargaining History at the University of California
Under HEERA, a unit is a group of titles with a sufficient "community of interest" that a union can reasonably represent the employees in the unit - particularly the negotiation of the employees' terms and conditions of employment. With the exception of skilled crafts titles, HEERA presumes that an appropriate unit is one which is "systemwide," that is, one which includes all employees in a vocational grouping at all UC locations throughout California in one statewide unit. With regard to appropriate representation units for members of the Academic Senate, HEERA provides that there shall be either a single systemwide unit consisting of all eligible members of the Senate, or divisional (campus) units consisting of all eligible members of a division of the Senate. The law excludes supervisors from establishing bargaining units and presumes that a unit of professional and non-professional employees is inappropriate. The law also requires that police officer titles be in a unit by themselves.
Some units within UC are already exclusively represented (unionized), and some are not. Subsequent to the enactment of HEERA in 1979, PERB made a number of determinations about appropriate units at the University of California and conducted a number of representation elections. Unionized units within the UC are: Clerical (CUE), Residual Patient Care Professionals (UPTE-CWA 9119), Service (AFSCME), Technical (UPTE-CWA 9119), Patient Care Technical (AFSCME), Nurses (CNA), Librarians (AFT), Non-Senate Instructional Lecturers (AFT), Trades (various local trades unions), Printers/Binders (GCIU), Research Support Professionals (UPTE-CWA 9119), Santa Cruz Faculty (Faculty Association), Academic Student Employees (UAW) Police Officers (FUPOA), and LLNL Public Safety Officers (PSOA). [The Systemwide Collective Bargaining Agreements, contain the full text of the agreements.] Pursuant to HEERA, the University shall not deal with employees directly or consult with any academic, professional or staff advisory group on any matter within the scope of representation for employees who are represented by an exclusive representative.
A PERB-established unit within UC which is currently non-unionized is the Academic Researchers (Unit 19 or FX). There are, in addition, numerous UC employees in non-unitted academic or staff professional and administrative positions. Under HEERA, a union may petition PERB for a unit determination hearing so that PERB may determine which non-unitted titles might constitute an appropriate bargaining unit.