About ComMaS
We are Communications, Marketing, and Sales Professionals (ComMaS) working to protect and improve our jobs at UC, as well as to have a greater say in strengthening the mission of the university. By forming a union as part of UAW, we are joining a movement of over 125,000 higher education workers who are raising workplace standards and increasing funding for higher education.
The ComMaS union joins several other groups at UC, who have unionized under UAW. Most recently, 12,000 Research and Public Service Professionals (RPSPs) and Student Services and Advising Professionals (SSAPs) recently won their first contract and joined UAW 4811!
Eligible titles for representation by ComMaS
Full-time, part-time, and contract employees in all of these UC Path titles are included in ComMaS-UAW:
- Writer Editor
- Acquisitions Editor
- Comms Specialist
- Digital Comms Specialist
- Marketing Specialist
- Media Comms Specialist
- Publications Production Specialist
- Sales Specialist
- Visual Comms Specialist
Supervisors and membership in ComMaS
Many of us perform duties in relation to other UC employees, such as providing guidance or direction in work assignments, approving schedules, providing trainings, etc that would not warrant exclusion from the bargaining unit as supervisors based on a legal standard. PERB (Public Employment Relations Board) has final authority to make the determination as to who is a supervisor, not the University administration.
State labor law only precludes us from being in the same bargaining unit as employees for whom we have independent authority to take actions such as hiring, firing, transferring, disciplining, adjusting grievances, or providing salary increases to multiple employees. Under HEERA (the California law that governs labor relations for public higher education employees), individuals are generally included in the bargaining unit if their supervisory duties are infrequent or clerical, if they have substantially similar job duties as their subordinates, or if they otherwise have sufficient shared interests with other workers in the bargaining unit. If you have doubts about whether or not you are eligible for the union based on supervisory duties, the state labor board will resolve those doubts once UC and our union begin the state’s process.
Your rights, benefits, and advancement opportunities as a member
Once a union is formed, UC cannot unilaterally alter any terms and conditions of employment—including pay, benefits, and working location.
Salary increases and merit awards have continued during negotiations in previous situations where a UAW union was bargaining with UC.
Unionizing does not mean that the flexible work arrangements we’ve worked out with our managers will change; in fact, it means that those arrangements can no longer be changed unilaterally by UC leadership.
Instead, changes to terms and conditions of employment are subject to collective bargaining, through which ComMaS have the power to negotiate with UC administrators as equals and democratically approve a binding, enforceable contract.
Union members have legal protections from retaliation for union activity. The majority of our coworkers at the UC are already in a union, and right now, UC is depending on the partnership with unionized employees to fight the attacks from the Trump administration. These unionized colleagues have organized rallies, lobbying, and town halls with congresspeople that have led to the reinstatement of tens of millions of dollars in funding for the University. UAW members also joined lawsuits and introduced new legislation to expand state funding to the university. By forming ComMaS-UAW and joining with our unionized colleagues, we will make even greater progress together.
Communications, Marketing, and Sales Professionals (ComMaS) are forming a union to improve the status quo. Just like the other groups of UAW staff who won a groundbreaking first contract, our goal is to organize a contract that benefits all of us, while maintaining flexibility that recognizes everyone’s differences.
Union Membership
Once ComMaS win and ratify our union contract, each of us can decide whether or not to become a dues-paying member. Historically, high union membership correlates with less contract violations and winning stronger contracts. Why? Because it demonstrates our unity and power to UC. As members, we contribute 1.44% of our gross salary to pool our resources and enable every aspect of having a strong union.
ULP Strike
In UAW, workers decide democratically if and when to call a strike. In order to authorize a strike, a supermajority (more than 66% of those who vote) must vote in favor. Often times, management commits Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) during negotiations, which grants workers our right to ULP strike. The threat of that strike is what pressures management stop their unlawful conduct and agree to a fair contract.