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It took them three years, but lecturers across the University of California system finally sealed a tentative contract, gaining better job security and base salary raises.

The American Federation of Teachers, the union for the 1,600 UC lecturers, reached a provisional agreement Thursday morning for a new labor contract which would be effective through June 2006.

“We believe this is a fair and balanced agreement, especially in light of the significant state funding constraints we’re experiencing,” Judith Boyette, the UC associate vice president for human resources and benefits, said in a statement.

Negotiations began in spring of 2000 after the lecturers’ previous contract expired.

Also on Thursday, the University Professional and Technical Employees union came to a tentative agreement with the UC after a year at the bargaining table.

Now, both the UC and the unions will “formalize the tentative agreements with their respective organizations” before the contracts are approved.

Under the new AFT contract, lecturers who have been with a university for more than six years and are in good standing will not be let go unless financial issues or poor teaching merit their dismissal.

Previously, these six-year lecturers went up for review every three years and could be dismissed for other reasons.

“We don’t do the glorious research some (administrators) want, but the idea is to give students a good education, and we really care a lot about the quality of teaching,” said Kevin Roddy, president of University Council-AFT, the union governing body for the eight UC campuses with undergraduate curriculum.

The other major change dramatically increased the salary minimums for incoming lecturers.

The old contract dictated a base salary of $27,000 per year for new lecturers. Now, starting in the fall, lecturers will start at $34,000 per year. This base will gradually increase to a peak of $37,000 per year in 2005.

“We believe we’re offering lecturers unmatched compensation,” said UC press aide Paul Schwartz.

“It’s a lot better than the old contract,” Roddy said.

Among these benefits, the contract also mentions improved benefits for part-time lecturers, additional prohibitions against strikes, and a commitment to review workload issues in certain programs, according to a UC statement.

Roddy said though he is “very happy” with the new contract, there are still proposed changes he wished could have been addressed.

The new contract did not grant lecturers private investigation, or the right to pursue their own research grants without oversight by Academic Senate members.

Roddy said there is no reason for the current restrictions, as the university only stands to gain money from grants – 45 percent of research grants go directly to the university.

In addition, conditions for lecturers who have not been at a university for six years are similar to the old contract, as they can still be fired after every academic year until they get past the six year review.

A more subtle change in the contract states that lecturers can now seek third-party investigation if they suspect the university of facilitating a process termed “churning” by the union.

The term refers to the illegal firing of lecturers just before they are put up for sixth-year review, and instead hiring lower-paid replacements.

These new clauses caught the eye of former political science lecturer Robert Hennig, who was let go earlier this year after six years at UCLA, a dismissal he said his department attributed to “financial reasons.”

At that point, Hennig decided not to pursue a six-year review, which, if successful, would have granted him another three years at UCLA under the old contract.

He said he has since learned the department is planning to hire additional lecturers next year. Hennig subsequently filed a grievance with his department asking for a proper review.

“I cannot heap enough contempt on a policy that denies working people job security for no other reason than someone’s own hubris,” he said.

Issues in UPTE’s discussions included options for severance pay and preferential treatment for being rehired in addition to continued wage discussions.

UPTE began negotiations about a year ago in spring of 2002, and its contract will run through September 2004.