On Tuesday, hundreds of UCLA academic workers walked off the job to protest the UC system’s handling of pro-Palestine protests on multiple campuses.
The striking workers are members of UAW 4811, which represents 48,000 workers at ten UC campuses and is coordinating a series of rolling walkouts across the schools. Workers at UC Santa Cruz kicked off the walkouts last week and were joined Tuesday, May 28, by their union siblings at UCLA and UC San Diego. The union says workers at three more campuses could walk out by Friday.
Although the strike comes at the start of summer break, it still has the potential to be very disruptive because graduate and postdoctoral students play an essential role in finalizing student grades, teaching summer courses and conducting time-sensitive research.
The union says that the strike is in response to “egregious unfair labor practices” committed by the UC System. The allegations include using law enforcement to “violently eject and arrest peaceful protesters” at UCLA, UC Irvine and UC San Diego; disciplining employees who participated in protests; and making changes to academic freedom and free speech rights on campuses.
The UC system, however, believes that these complaints are unrelated to union labor issues and the strike is therefore illegal. The UC system has filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the Public Employment Relations Board in hopes of getting an injunction to halt the walkouts.
“The University remains disappointed that the UAW is engaging in an illegal strike in violation of our contract’s mutually agreed no-strike clauses to advance issues that have no bearing on employment at UC,” UC officials said in a May 23 statement.
So far the university’s effort has been unsuccessful. Last Thursday, PERB rejected the UC’s demand to immediately stop the strike. The board is still considering the UC’s unfair labor practice charges, but a ruling is not expected for at least three weeks.
At UCLA, workers are planning to rally on campus at noon.
Related links
1st arrest of accused attackers of UCLA pro-Palestinian protesters
As UCLA Chancellor Block testifies in Congress, students launch new campus protest
UC Irvine leaders defend response to student protests in answers to Academic Senate
47 arrested in UCI protest, encampment crackdown; Chancellor says ‘I’m brokenhearted’
UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment left in a rubble as students vow campus protests ‘are not over’
“I’m striking in solidarity with this historic student movement protesting the genocide in Gaza,” said UCLA graduate worker Sebastian Cazares in an interview. “We’re also protesting the Gene Block administration and UCLA policies that have targeted journalists, suppressed free speech, abused students and sent weaponized state sanctioned violence on peaceful protesters.”
Over 200 protesters were arrested at UCLA during a May 1 police raid on the Palestine Solidarity Encampment. They night before protesters were attacked by a Pro-Israel mob with bear mace, pepper spray and wooden planks — an incident which resulted in over 25 protesters being sent to the emergency room, according to medics at the encampment.
Approximately a third of faculty members at UCLA have signed a letter vowing they will not perform any labor, such as grading student assignments, to replace the striking workers. Among them is Political Science Professor Michael Chwe.
“Me and my fellow faculty that are here very much supportive of the strike,” he said following a UAW press conference last Thursday. “The right to strike is a very basic democratic right, so we’re grateful that the graduate student and postdocs have a union which can represent them and allow them to act collectively.”
