(Very Late) Second Post

So naturally, I appear unclear on the concept of blogging. Sorry about that. The fact is that nothing reportable has happened in the 2 1/2 months of negotiations with the University of California. I am reminded of a line from The Lord of the Rings: "It takes a long time to say anything in old Entish, and we never say anything, unless it is worth taking a long time to say."

You might think of bargaining as the process of speaking in an obscure, slow language. After four bargaining sessions, we have finished saying "hello," and we are just now beginning to discuss our issues in earnest. We have explained that we are woefully under-compensated, and tomorrow, Friday, 13th April, we will explain that we are overworked. The University has stated that it wants us to extend our contract, and we have indicated that we aren't willing to do that at this time.

Tomorrow, we expect a salary proposal from the University, and we hope to get signals from its bargaining team about workload, and how the UC sees this round of bargaining unfolding. The UC seems to want to finish negotiations by early summer, but we aren't sure whether it is willing to give us what we need in order to have a swift resolution.

In any case, I'll begin twice-weekly updates, if only to tell you that nothing is happening. Look for posts on Wednesdays and Weekends.