Photo is (L-R) Zoe Bolesta-Reynolds, UC Davis Campus CUCSA Delegate, Stefan Toma, UC Davis Health CUCSA Delegate, Dr. Michael V. Drake, President of the University of California
Photo is (L-R) Zoe Bolesta-Reynolds, UC Davis Campus CUCSA Delegate, Stefan Toma, UC Davis Health CUCSA Delegate, Dr. Michael V. Drake, President of the University of California

Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) Quarterly Meeting Recap - June 2024

Quick Summary

  • Discover the latest from the CUCSA meeting at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with topics ranging from divestment, to health insurance premiums, and final workgroup presentations including systemwide recommendations.

The Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) held its final quarterly meeting June 5 - June 7, 2024, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. On the first day, the Delegation received Business Updates, Delegates participated in an open forum discussion involving staff mentoring and succession planning, Staff Assembly support during layoffs, accessibility for Staff Assembly functions, and political speech as UC staff. 

On Day 2, Delegates heard from Wade Crosson, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer at Berkeley Lab, who spoke about the employee experience at Berkeley Lab, pay transparency, and flexible work. The Delegates then performed an end-of-year retrospective to identify achievements, learnings, and improvements from the FY23-FY24 CUCSA delegation.

The Delegation also received presentations on Day 2 and 3 from:

  • Aditi Chakravarty, Chief Culture Officer, Berkeley Lab – presentation on the new Learning and Culture Office and the Berkeley Lab culture survey
  • Wendy Welsh, Communications Manager – External Relations & Communications – the redesign and future planned enhancements to the UC compensation website
  • Michael Drake, President – University of California – vision for staff at the University of California, Q&A, conversation 
  • Carol Burns, Deputy Laboratory Director for Research, Berkeley Lab – spoke to Berkeley Lab’s mission and its role in the UC system
  • Rachael Nava – shared on topics ranging from UC operations, administrative burden, AI and the University, and engaged with the workgroups topics

The Delegation also received updates from the CUCSA Internal Operations workgroup and the CUCSA Communications workgroup. The remaining four 2023-2024 CUCSA Work Groups recorded their final presentations, which will be posted on the official CUCSA website, once available. Work group topics and recommendations to UC administration involved:

  • Staff Well-being
  • Sustainable Workforce
  • Policy-covered Staff Identity
  • Compensation

Spring Quarter themes of note included that a 4.2% non-represented staff salary increase is still expected, we are likely to see increases in healthcare benefit costs this year, divestment nuances, and that UC Net recently underwent a redesign. The Delegation also took the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the outgoing CUCSA FY23-FY24 Executive Board. 

Photo is of the interior dome of the Advanced Light Source at Berkeley Lab.

Secondary Categories

CUCSA