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UCLA Academic Workers Go On Strike, Growing Protest Against University Of California System
Members of UAW 4811 have joined a growing strike across the University of California system.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Student researchers, teaching assistants and post-docs at UCLA and UC Davis went on strike Tuesday, expanding a strike that began at UC Santa Cruz on May 20.
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UCLA Academic Workers Go On Strike, Growing Protest Against University Of California System
The union that represents all of them — UAW 4811 — takes issue with how some University of California campuses have responded to recent demonstrations related to the war in Gaza.
A strike will mean less grading, teaching, and research. Final exams are only two weeks away.
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"This is what a strike is supposed to do. It's supposed to be disruptive," said B. Guerrero, an undergraduate who took part in a UCLA encampment. "It's supposed to make people mad, because that's how change occurs."
B Guerrero, an undergraduate student at UCLA, came out to support the UAW strike.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Members of UAW 4811 have joined a growing strike across the University of California system.
(
Samanta Helou Hernandez
/
LAist
)
What's the strike about?
The union takes issue with the arrest, suspension, and discipline of members who participated in demonstrations at UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine over the past month. Students there have been calling for the university system to divest from companies that support Israel's war effort in Gaza, among other things.
The University of California system says the strike is a violation of the union's contract.
"Our talented students are getting ready for finals, and UCLA’s focus is doing whatever we can to support them. They’re paying tuition and fees to learn, and we’re dismayed by deliberate outside disruptions that get in the way of that," said Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications, in a statement to LAist. "Students want to hear their professors teach, not the piercing sounds of trumpets, drums and slogans being shouted right outside their classroom windows.”
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Members of UAW 4811 have joined a growing strike across the University of California system.
(
Samanta Helou Hernandez
/
LAist
)
The union, however, maintains that employees are demanding workplace-related changes, including the right to opt out of military-funded research.
"I think it's really important that we set a strong, powerful, united example to the rest of the labor movement and show them that it's our right to take stances on political issues and issues that affect the world and humanity," said Desmond Fonseca, a Ph.D. candidate in history at UCLA.
Desmond Fonseca, a striking union member and PhD student at UCLA.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Members of UAW 4811 have joined a growing strike across the University of California system.
(
Samanta Helou Hernandez
/
LAist
)
What did UCLA's strike look like on Day 1?
The strikers and their supporters picketed throughout campus, including in front of Royce Hall, where an encampment of students critical of Israel's war effort was attacked by counterprotesters for hours before police intervened.
The first day of the strike also included speeches in Bruin Plaza from professor Ananya Roy as well as Caroline Luce, a lecturer at UCLA’s labor studies program and communications chair of UC-AFT, the union that represents lecturers and librarians across the University of California system.
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Professor Ananya Roy speaks to striking members of UAW 4811 and their supporters at UCLA.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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“Our co-workers deserve better, and our students deserve better,” Luce said, after announcing that her union has joined UAW 4811 in filing unfair labor practice charges against the University of California.
In the afternoon, union members hosted a teach-in for undergraduate students, where they had an opportunity to learn more about the strike’s purpose. Union members also distributed handouts listing their demands, which include amnesty for students and faculty who were arrested when police dismantled the encampment.
A teach-in for undergraduate students to learn why members of the UAW 4811 are striking.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
)
Hand outs given to undergraduates during a teach-in about the UAW 4811 strike.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
)
The handouts also addressed student questions about the strike’s potential impact on their final exams and graduation ceremonies. They instruct students not to skip their finals and promise that “Nothing about this [strike] will stop you from walking in the graduation ceremony and celebrating your hard-earned degree.”
Lunch being served for rank-and-file union members.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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When will the strike end?
At the moment, that's probably up to each side.
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The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) enforces collective bargaining laws for the state’s public sector employees. On May 23, PERB announced it would not pursue an injunction to stop the strikes, saying UC "has not established that injunctive relief is 'just and proper’” under the standard set by state law.
J. Felix De La Torre, general counsel for PERB, said last week that the agency has offered mediation to UC and the union.
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