Strike at UC’s Campuses

UC Workers On Strike

The majority of teaching and research at the state’s top higher education institution is done by some 48,000 unionized academic employees who work throughout the University of California’s 10 campuses. On Monday morning, they went on strike to demand improved compensation and benefits.

Just weeks before final exams, scheduled classes have already been disrupted numerous times due to the system-wide strike. This also affects teaching assistants, postdoctoral scholars, graduate student researchers, tutors, fellows, and employees at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

The walkout will be the biggest at any academic institution in history, according to union leaders. It will be the biggest work stoppage of the year thus far.

Strikers at UC Irvine started demonstrating on campus at 8:30 in the morning. Other walkouts at some other universities, including UC Davis and UC San Francisco, were scheduled for nine in the morning. In order to more than double their average current compensation of roughly $24,000 per year, the 48,000 workers, who are represented by four UAW bargaining units, have asked for base wages of $54,000.

Employees have complained that the compensation scale rise granted by UC — 7% in the first year and 3% in each succeeding year — is insufficient.

Personal Experiences

Jamie Mondello, a 27-year-old UCLA psychology graduate student worker who belongs to UAW Local 2865 and Student Researchers United, said, they are overworked and underpaid, and they are fed up. Their suggestions raise everyone’s wages to livable levels.

As a fellow, Mondello said she earns roughly $37,000 a year. She plans to add a teaching assistantship to her resume the following quarter to help supplement her income. Along with hundreds of other academic employees, she was on the picket line at UCLA on Monday morning. Many of them were carrying placards that stated, “UAW on strike. Unfair labor practice,” They chanted, Forty-eight thousand strong. “We could fight all day.”

Lavanya Nott, a 30-year-old third-year graduate student in geography who is also a student researcher, claims to earn $24,000 a year from her primary job and about $2,000 a year from a second job.  She holds a job on campus where she grades assignments for teaching assistants who do not speak English as their first language.

Living in Los Angeles or the majority of California’s cities is “nearly impossible,” she claimed. Many of us work additional or supplemental jobs.

Important Stats

Nott referred to her income as being at the poverty line and claimed that 92% of graduate students are rent-burdened. Meaning they spend at least 30% of their income on housing. She and her partner each pay $1,500 a month to reside in the one-bedroom apartment that is supplied by UC housing. Despite the fact that she is parent-free, she claimed to be aware of how difficult it is for parents to send their children to childcare on UC campuses. This is because of the inadequate childcare subsidies offered by the university.

Other Causes For The Strike

The protestors said that because the institution won’t cover their tuition after five years, international students must pay non-residential tuition fees, which forces them to finish their degrees in five years.

In many ways, the university is administered by postdocs, researchers, and graduate students serving as teaching assistants, according to Nott. “The majority of the classes are taught by us. More papers are graded by us than by any other faculty member. We conduct cutting-edge research that provides the UC system with significant financing. The requests we are making only account for 3% of the UC’s annual budget. It’s a relatively little request compared to what UC can manage.”

Workers want more money for childcare, greater healthcare benefits for dependents, bus passes, reduced tuition for international students, and better accessibility for disabled workers in addition to pay raises. This strike will continue until an agreement is reached.

Written by Gabriel Salgado

Los Angeles Times: Strike by 48,000 University of California academic workers causes systemwide disruptions

ABC7: Thousands of University of California academic researchers, student employees go on strike

The Washington Post: In largest strike of 2022, California academic workers walk off job

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