WHEREAS, The University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) is a union of 370 librarians and more than 5,000 faculty employees who are not members of the Academic Senate of the University of California who are employed at the 10 campuses of the University of California; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty teach approximately one-third of undergraduate student credit hours within the University of California and are integral and essential to the education of students at the University of California; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty are dedicated to carrying out the education, research, and service mission of the University of California; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty join together to advocate for high-quality education as a public good; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty fight for full and equitable access to excellent public higher education for students and legislative solutions to education policy issues; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty work for better salaries and benefits, greater security of employment, professional respect and support, workplace rights, shared governance, and academic freedom; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty have been fighting for better working conditions at the University of California since UC-AFT was formally organized on June 19, 1971; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty work to enforce negotiated contract provisions for both faculty and librarians, and to provide a broad range of services and benefits to members; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty work to combat forced turnover of nontenure track faculty to provide the most experienced instructors and highest quality instruction in University of California classrooms; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty believe in the right of all faculty, particularly nontenure track faculty at the University of California, to join and form unions; and

WHEREAS, UC-AFT faculty work in coalition with members of other University of California unions that together represent more than 80,000 University of California employees systemwide, including academic student employees and graduate student instructors (United Auto Workers Local 2865); postdoctoral scholars (United Auto Workers Local 5810); clerical and allied workers (Teamsters Local 2010); research support, health care, and technical professionals (University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America Local 9119); registered nurses (California Nurses Association); physicians and dentists (Union of American Physicians and Dentists); police officers (Federated University Police Officers Association); and service and patient care workers (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3299); and

WHEREAS, The University of California, with over 198,000 employees, is the largest employer in the most prosperous state in the United States, and the well-being of its employees therefore has great bearing on California as a whole; and

WHEREAS, More than 238,000 students are currently pursuing their education at the University of California, which also counts more than 1,700,000 alumni in California and around the world; and

WHEREAS, Student learning conditions and faculty research conditions depend directly and immediately on UC-AFT faculty working conditions; and

WHEREAS, The University Council is affiliated with the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and its local central labor councils; now, therefore, be it