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The Regents of the University of California
 

THOSE CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

With summer just a calendar page away, organizers are already planning the annual All-Staff Picnic, set for July 14. The free picnic lunch promises fun in the sun and an opportunity to hang out with colleagues. Last year’s wildly successful picnic drew 3,000-plus, and the two hosts, the UCLA Staff Assembly and the Chancellor’s Office, expect this year’s event will be just as festive. This year, tickets will be distributed at additional locations. Look for details in an e-mail coming in late June. Bring your picnic blanket to Dickson Court from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Don’t be left out.

ONE-DAY STRIKE

The Professional and Technical Employees union (UPTE), representing UC's 8,000 research support and technical employees, has announced that it plans to conduct a one-day strike May 26. UC officials said that they have offered UPTE a new wage proposal that is substantially equivalent to the wage package recently ratified by UC service workers. But as of press time May 20, the union had not agreed to the bargaining table. The UC has been bargaining with the union on a new contract since May 2004. UC was considering filing a complaint with the California Public Employee Relations Board against UPTE for waht it said was the unions unlawful MAy 26 strike plan and its unlawful participation in the April 14m 2005, strike. Each UC campus and medical center will take appropriate steps to ensure that normal operations won't be disrupted, officials said.

STARS FOR THE NIGHT

Some 2,000 Bruins walked the blue carpet May 21 at Pauley Pavilion to get into this year’s Hollywood-themed Young Alumni Reunion, a social highlight for newly-minted graduates as well as alumni from the class of 2000 on up. The UCLA Alumni Association and the UCLA Fund organized this now-annual event as the perfect opportunity for young grads to relive their college experience, connect with friends, build a network and support the university, while socializing over food, drinks, dancing and casino games. Guests took time to talk on video about their college experiences as part of the UCLA Bruin Legacy Video Project, developed by University Communications, to tell UCLA’s story from a young alumni perspective to many audiences.

GEARING UP

UC has partnered with a Bechtel-led industrial team to prepare for a possible bid for continued management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, although UC regents have not yet decided whether to compete. The historic partnership pairs UC with a team of contractors and managers of complex nuclear and national security operations, to be led by Michael R. Anastasio, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Bechtel National will be joined by BWX Technologies Inc. and Washington Group International.