University of California Academic Workers call of strike

Union officials announced on Friday night that academic workers at the University of California had decided to go back to work, putting an end to a historically significant strike that had delayed research and classrooms throughout the renowned public university for nearly six weeks.

Tens of thousands of workers will return in January once the holiday break ends across the 10-campus system thanks to the ratification votes by substantial majorities of two contentious bargaining units of the United Auto Workers. Union officials applauded the agreements, but other negotiators contended that the pact still did not give members who were struggling with California's high cost of living enough compensation and benefits.

“These agreements redefine what is possible in terms of how universities support their workers, who are the backbone of their research and education enterprise,” said Rafael Jaime, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the president of U.A.W. 2865, in a statement. “They include especially significant improvements for parents and marginalized workers, and will improve the quality of life for every single academic employee at the University of California.”

A total of 48,000 unionized workers, the majority of whom were graduate students, went on strike in November. After postdoctoral workers and researchers separately ratified their contracts this month, about 36,000 of these workers are still on strike. The work stoppage was the biggest in national history for employees who work in universities.

The employees whose contracts were approved on Friday carried out a significant portion of the daily work associated with classroom instruction, from running office hours to facilitating discussion groups, and their absence has already hampered research, the administration of fall exams, and grading.

Following a series of mediation discussions conducted by Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg, a lawyer and University of California alumnus, the union leaders and university administration came to an agreement last week. But there was no guarantee that the accord would be ratified.

The "yes" vote was followed by a week-long campaign of resistance by union members who had maintained throughout the discussions that teaching assistants, tutors, and researchers could get better terms due to the negotiating strength they had gained during the walkout.

Employees at U.C. Santa Cruz, where academic workers staged a strike in 2020 without the support of the U.A.W., overwhelmingly voted against ratifying the contract, according to union leaders in a statement. They understood that the statewide vote may frustrate many members, but they found comfort in the widespread worker mobilization.

“We must celebrate the level and depth of rank-and-file engagement throughout this contract fight and strike, which has exceeded any mobilization in the history of our union local,” the Santa Cruz union representatives wrote, encouraging disappointed members to “redouble our commitment to the organizing that has taken us this far” and to resist the urge to leave the union.

California's historically high cost of housing was a major factor in the walkout. The union had demanded that the institution clearly link pay to the price of housing near campus in an effort to combat rising rents. Additionally, the employees requested that the university increase their part-time workers' base compensation to around $54,000 annually.

The agreement that was approved on Friday did not raise pay to that level, but it significantly increased starting salaries over the course of a two-and-a-half-year contract. Higher pay scales were also included for more experienced employees and those who lived on campuses in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Los Angeles where housing costs were particularly high.

Graduate student researchers' starting salaries will increase from around $22,000 to $35,500, while teaching assistants' starting salaries will climb from about $23,000 to $34,000.

The deal provided newly organized student researchers with their first-ever contractual protections and expanded benefits for transportation, health care, and child care.

The institution thanked the union in a statement after agreeing to enter voluntary mediation.

“Today’s ratification demonstrates yet again the university’s strong commitment to providing every one of our hardworking employees with competitive compensation and benefit packages that honor their many contributions to our institution, to our community, and the state of California,” Letitia Silas, executive director of systemwide labour relations for the university, said.

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