IRVINE – Donning Santa hats and calling the University of California system “naughty,” a dozen UC Irvine lecturers and their supporters rallied for better pay, more stable appointments and Social Security benefits for part-time lecturers.

“We are an extremely vulnerable and alienated work force,” said Andrew Tonkovich, a UCI lecturer and president of the UC-American Federation of Teachers, Local 2226.

There are currently some 400 lecturers at UCI and they teach at least a third, if not closer to half, of the undergraduate students’ classes, Tonkovich said.

University administrators rely on the lecturers, many of whom hold master’s and Ph.D degrees, but offer them little job security, making those without continuing appointments re-apply for their own positions every year, Tonkovich said.

“Why does this great institution so marginalize so much of its faculty by relying on them as adjunct and part-time and making them re-apply for their own jobs or, worst case, not paying their Social Security?” Tonkovich said.

The university system has offered its estimated 3,400 lecturers across UC’s nine campuses a 1.5 percent pay increase in the first year of the new contract and in the second, third and fourth years, the same pay increase as other academic employees, said UC spokeswoman Kate Moser.

“The total compensation package for University of California lecturers is competitive with other institutions. The University of California values our lecturers and the contributions they make every day in the classroom,” Moser said.

The average salary for UC lecturers is about $63,000, Moser said. Tonkovich said salaries vary greatly among the lecturers.

UC and the union, which also represents librarians, have been negotiating for several months. Their contract expired in June and has been extended twice, through Thursday.

On Friday, representatives from both sides were scheduled to meet in Oakland for negotiations, which are expected to continue next week.

Contact the writer: rkopetman@ocregister.com