Thousands of UC researchers, teaching assistants authorize strike across 10 campuses
More than 36,500 academic workers from the University of California voted Wednesday night to authorize a strike after the university system failed to meet demands that include living wages and child care subsidies. They also say the UCs violated labor laws and failed to bargain in good faith.
The workers, who are represented by three different affiliates of the United Auto Workers, form the backbone of UC campus operations. There are about 48,000 unionized postdoctoral researchers, professional and student researchers, teaching assistants, tutors and readers across the 10 UC campuses.
UC Davis has about 6,200 academic workers, according to organizers.
About 76% of workers participated in the vote, with more than 97% voting to approve the strike.
Workers could walk off the job as early as Nov. 14. A strike would likely shut down the majority of undergraduate classes, as the universities rely heavily on TAs to teach discussion sections, grade papers and administer exams. Research would also grind to a halt if graduate student researchers, postdocs and academic researchers left their labs to join picket lines.
University officials said in a statement that plans are in place to continue classes.
“All campuses will be prepared to ensure continuity of instruction and research in the event of a UAW strike,” the UC said in a written statement. “Ultimately, differences must be resolved at the bargaining table, with both sides being flexible and willing to compromise.”
The unions allege that the UCs violated labor law by bypassing the bargaining system, unilaterally changing working conditions for cherry-picked groups of workers, and refusing to provide relevant information to aid the bargaining process. They have filed 23 unfair labor practice charges with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board, and the board has issued complaints in three of those cases.
“Many of these charges could be resolved if the university just bargained in good faith,” said Neal Sweeney, President of UAW Local 5810, which represents about 7,000 postdocs and 4,500 professional academic researchers.
UC officials rejected charges that they acted illegally.
“The UAW alleges that UC has engaged in unlawful behavior, which is not true,” the UC said in their written statement. “Our hope is that UAW reciprocates by likewise engaging in good-faith negotiations and focusing on having a productive dialogue.”
The last UC union to go on strike won its demands without having to walk off the job. About 6,500 UC lecturers voted to go on strike in November 2021, but called off it off after university management agreed to raise salaries by nearly 30% over five years. Workers also won greater job security with guaranteed multi-year appointments as well as four weeks of paid family leave.
The Council of UC Faculty Associations, which represents dues-paying professors in the UC Academic Senate, supports the workers and called on UC to start bargaining in good faith — for the sake of workers and students.
“As undergraduate enrollments rise, improved working and living conditions of academic workers are necessary to provide students with the best possible learning conditions,” said Constance Penley, president of the Council.
Penley said the Council would encourage senate faculty members to honor the picket line in the event of a strike. A sign-on statement sent out Wednesday has already garnered over 500 signatures.
“When faculty respect the picket line, we demonstrate in very concrete terms that we are unwilling to accept the conditions that have led academic workers and researchers at UC to vote for a strike in the first place,” Penley said. “It’s one powerful way to communicate that student researchers and post-docs are essential to the functioning of UC — and their contract should reflect that.”
Workers demand living wages, support for families
Academic workers’ salaries have not kept pace with escalating costs of living in California. As a result, many graduate students struggle with high rents and making ends meet.
“We don’t make more than $30,000 a year,” said Ximena Anleu Gil, a graduate molecular biology researcher at UC Davis who also works as a teaching assistant. She estimates her monthly take-home pay hovers around $2,300. Being an international student from Guatemala adds another layer of expenses with visa payments, paperwork fees and transportation costs.
The unions want to see a minimum annual salary of $54,000 for graduate student workers and $70,000 for postdocs. They’re seeking a 14% pay raise for professional academic researchers, as well as annual cost-of-living and experience-based adjustments.
The university’s latest offer included salary raises between 6 to 7.5% with single-digit percentage increases in subsequent years of the contract.
Housing is the biggest money sucker for academic workers. Anleu Gil and her partner Peter Lynagh, a former graduate researcher who now works as a postdoc, share a one-bedroom apartment in Davis for about $2,000 per month with utilities. To cover her half of the rent, she pays nearly 50% of her monthly income.
The couple used to live in more affordable UC Davis-sponsored housing, but they had to share a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit with three other roommates. The unit was not well maintained, she said, and the cabinets were so run down and filthy that she didn’t feel comfortable storing food in them.
In the summer of 2021, Anleu Gil and Lynagh made the tough decision to move out of UC housing and find a place of their own. But because the leases didn’t align perfectly, the couple had to find somewhere to stay for two weeks in between. They could only afford a few nights in a hotel. The other nights, they crashed on friends’ couches and even slept in their cars.
They hope to start a family one day, but on their current salaries they could never afford it. The unions are fighting for a $2,000 per month childcare reimbursement — a boon that’s especially important for international students and researchers whose families move with them to California. Students on F1 visas can work while in the United States, but their partners, who are usually on F2 visas, can’t work.
“I’ve met people who have big families and only one income,” Anleu Gil said.
Anleu Gil said her mental and physical health has suffered as a result of her financial insecurity. In the past she’s put off medical treatments to avoid additional costs.
“Any big expense can put us in a very vulnerable position, and it can come from anywhere,” she said. “That really distracts us from our work.”
This story was updated to include comment from the UC system.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 8:49 PM.