University of California Workers Authorize Union to Call for Strike Over Protest Crackdowns

[Omaha Steve]

Source: NYT

A union representing about 48,000 academic workers said that campus leaders mishandled pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The vote gives the union’s executive board the ability to call a strike at any time.

By Jonathan Wolfe

Reporting from Los Angeles
Published May 15, 2024 Updated May 16, 2024, 1:20 a.m. ET

Unions are known for fighting for higher pay and workplace conditions. But academic workers in the University of California system authorized their union on Wednesday to call for a strike over something else entirely: free speech.

The union, U.A.W. 4811, represents about 48,000 graduate students and other academic workers at 10 University of California system campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its members, incensed over the university system’s handling of campus protests, pushed their union to address grievances extending beyond the bread-and-butter issues of collective bargaining to concerns over protesting and speaking out in their workplace.

The strike authorization vote, which passed with 79 percent support, comes two weeks after dozens of counterprotesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, for several hours without police intervention, and without arrests. Officers in riot gear tore down the encampment the next day and arrested more than 200 people.

The vote does not guarantee a strike but rather gives the executive board of the local union, which is part of the United Auto Workers, the ability to call a strike at any time. Eight of the 10 University of California campuses still have a month of instruction left before breaking for summer.


Two weeks ago, counterprotesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, for several hours without police intervention, and without arrests.Credit...Mark Abramson for The New York Times

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/us/university-of-california-strike-authorization-palestinian-protest.html

[obamanut2012]

1. Good, what happened at UCLA was disgusting

[SunSeeker]

5. This is UC wide, and will affect my kid at UCSD.

It will screw up his last 3 weeks of school, i.e. finals. I'm paying $30k a year for his education.

This union went on strike last year for better wages and I supported that. But to strike UC wide over one protest incident at UCLA? This hurts the union movement.

What is it they are demanding of UC to end the strike?

[Zincwarrior]

2. All the contract associate professors strike, they don't get paid correct?

And they are on contract?

The Boy is graduating with his doctorate in August. Need to tell him about job opportunities opening up.

[sybylla]

3. Turning your son into a scab and ROTFL isn't the own you think it is at DU.

[BuddhaGirl]

4. +1

[SunSeeker]

6. Striking UC wide because cops didn't come fast enough for counterprotesters at UCLA is bad for unions.

Who will vote for a union if a union will strike over a polarizing political issue like Gaza? And the strike is UC WIDE over an incident that occurred at only one school -UCLA- where they claim the cops didn't come fast enough to beat away counterprotesters to a STUDENT encampment that had nothing to do with the union.

Mind you, that student encampment had spray painted ACAB all over UCLA's historic Royce Hall and insisted cops stay out of their encampment.

[SunSeeker]

10. Correct, they won't get paid. UC just sent a letter telling them so:

[SunSeeker]

7. I supported UAW 4811 when they went on strike in 2022 for better wages, but this is a mistake.

This will only hurt the union movement. That encampment clearing at UCLA had nothing to do with the union. Who would vote to form a union when they see unions striking over stuff like this?

[SunSeeker]

8. UC's response: this strike violates the Collective Bargaining Agreement

[Prairie Gates]

9. They're not going to strike

[SunSeeker]

11. How do you know? nt