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START began July 1, offering eligible employees the opportunity to cut their work hours without the loss of UC Retirement Plan credit, vacation or sick leave accrual, or health insurance or other benefits.

START, short for Staff and Academic Reduction in Time Program, is being implemented throughout the UC system as a cost-cutting move during tough budget times. When UC last offered START, from 2003 to 2006, the system saw nearly $42 million in payroll savings.

This time around, START will run for two years, through June 30, 2010, during which time eligible part-time and full-time employees can reduce their percentage of time worked from 10 percent to 50 percent (based on full-time status), for as little as one month or as long as the entire two years.

The UC Board of Regents OK'd the new START Program on May 15, pending a 30-day review period. With the review completed, and the rules drawn up, the university is ready to start processing START contracts. The place to start, if you are interested, is with your supervisor.

START is open to full- and part-time nonprobationary career ("regular status") staff employees and academic appointees, except those in faculty and student academic titles, and postdoctoral scholars. All START contracts are subject to department head approval.

Participation by union-represented employees is subject to collective bargaining, and, as of June 26, only one union — UPTE — had signed off on START, said Karen Hull, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources on the Davis campus.

UPTE, or the Union of University Professional and Technical Employees, represents staff research associates, lab assistants, computer resource specialists, animal health technicians, animal techs, and environmental health and safety techs.

The UC Office of the President continues to bargain with other unions.

Everyone — union-represented or not — needs to keep this in mind: Not everyone who is eligible will be able to participate. This is because departments and units may opt out entirely; the ºÙºÙÊÓƵ Health System, for example, has said "no" to START.

"Although we believe the program is a valuable one, it has the potential to create patient care service delivery issues, would require us to fill in behind any individual in the program whose absence would affect legally mandated staffing ratios, and could put significant burden on those employees left to do the work of the employees in the program," said Gloria Alvarado, the health system's executive director for Human Resources. Most other UC health systems also are not participating, she added.

A major difference between the 2003-06 START program and the new one is flexibility. Last time, employees were given a one-month period to apply; this time, employees can decide at any time during the two-year period to cut back their hours, and they can switch back and forth, going in and out of the program, any number of times.

A START contract can be changed by mutual agreement of the employee and department head, and with 30 days' advance notice. Similarly, the employee or department head can end a START contract with 30 days' notice.