Moon Rinaldo, Student Academic Advisor II

I am excited to be working toward union representation with my fellow advisors! For me, it will be a return to UPTE – I was a member for 10 years in a previous position. I know from that experience the benefits of being a member. During that time, UPTE negotiated a 3% pay increase, retroactive three years. I also came to trust and appreciate the union representative who was my UPTE contact at UCSC. I currently have a great supervisor, but I will feel more comfortable and secure knowing that if something changed for the worse in my work environment, or if a circumstance arose that my supervisor had no control over, I would have a trusted third party to go to for advice and help. Union dues are an extra expense, which is hard for me to wring out of an already inadequate paycheck, but they are tax deductible, and I believe the return on the investment will be worth it! There is no compelling reason for employees in my position to remain one of the only groups on campus that is not represented by a union. I truly believe that workers, and people in general, are stronger and smarter together! Let’s get this done!