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To the Editor: 

I am writing because I am furious at again being the target of UC’s double-dealing. I recently attended a staff forum held on the UC Berkeley campus where the “New Directions” transit program for UC staff was announced. I also received an e-mail that went out over Vice-Chancellor Horace Mitchell’s name which stated, “Any employee can try a New Directions program risk free.” 

Yet when I went to Berkeley Trip yesterday to ask for the $10 monthly discount on transit passes/tickets, I was told that I didn’t qualify because I’m a member of the clericals’ union, CUE. The explanation was that since we are in contract negotiations, these benefits don’t apply to us. 

Clericals on this campus are fed up and then some with UC’s glowing public announcements about what a benevolent employer they are, announcements which are then all too often followed by private, unpublicized retractions and alterations. This deception is union-busting, and the clericals on this campus will not stand for it. 

I can’t state strongly enough what a bitter taste this experience leaves. And I am amazed, too, that Vice-Chancellor Mitchell hasn’t stepped in and done something about this situation, since his reputation has been damaged in the process. If we can’t trust the public statements of a high-level UC administrator, who can we trust? 

Jude Bell 

Local 3, Clericals’ Union