Strikes today at UC campuses + Salas secures a big endorsement + Endorsement nepotism?
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
UC LECTURERS GOING ON STRIKE
Via Rosalio Ahumada and Lara Korte...
Lecturers at the University of California, Davis, will be among teachers at nine UC campuses throughout the state participating in a two-day strike, canceling their classes Wednesday and Thursday in a protest against what they call “unfair labor practices.”
The University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents the UC lecturers, says its members are walking out of their classrooms to take action against “bad-faith bargaining” by UC President Michael Drake’s administration. Over the weekend, 91% of the union’s members voted to authorize the strike.
The union has been in negotiations with the UC administration for more than two years. Union members say they want better pay and job security, among other things. Lecturers, unlike faculty, are not eligible for tenure and often subject to a high rate of turnover.
The system as a whole employs about 6,000 lecturers.
Katie Rodger, president of the UC-AFT Davis chapter, said the strike is about a “pattern of bad faith bargaining practices.” It’s unclear how many of UC Davis’ 500 lecturers will participate in the strike, but those who do are expected to cancel classes, suspend office hours and refrain from doing any classwork, like answering emails or grading papers.
Under labor laws, the university is allowed to dock the pay of employees who withhold labor, though it’s unclear if the administration intends to do this.
The lecturers teach one third of credit courses at the University of California, according to UC-AFT.
Lecturers at UC Merced also are expected to participate in the strike, along with lecturers at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Irvine and UC San Diego. UC San Francisco is not expected to see a strike.
Rodger said she anticipates some lawmakers will also make an appearance in support, but would not say who.
COX ENDORSES SALAS
Democratic Assemblyman Rudy Salas Jr has secured a big endorsement in his race to unseat Republican Rep. David Valadao in California’s 21st Congressional District: The man Valadao himself beat to regain his seat in 2020, TJ Cox.
In endorsing Salas, Cox signaled that he would not be challenging Valadao to a rematch.
“There’s no question that Rudy gives us our best shot of flipping a seat from red to blue here in the Valley,” Cox said in a statement. “No one knows their district better than Rudy. No one has delivered more for their district than Rudy. This year alone he has delivered over 50 million dollars for public safety, water and education. He’s raised wages for farmworkers and lowered healthcare costs for families. His track record as a fearless and independent representative for the Valley will serve him well in Congress.”
Valadao defeated Cox in 2020 by an incredibly narrow margin; just 1,522 votes separated the two men in that race.
“It’s an honor to call TJ a friend and supporter,” Salas said in a statement. “I know how our communities are better-off as a result of his service.”
CANDIDATE CONDEMNS LGBT CAUCUS FOR ALLEGED NEPOTISM
Caroline Menjivar, a candidate for State Senate District 18, has accused the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus of giving in to “a culture of nepotism” by endorsing her rival for the seat — Daniel Hertzberg, the son of Sen. Bob Hertzberg, who currently holds the seat.
“I am deeply disappointed in the California State LGBTQ Legislative Caucus’ decision to exclude me from the process to compete for their endorsement,” Menjivar said in a statement. “For a caucus whose mission includes advocating for diversity and inclusion of all people, I question their intent with an endorsement that was not inclusive of all the candidates seeking to represent the San Fernando Valley.”
Menjivar, a Marine Corps veteran and a lesbian, said in a statement that she has been fighting against “systems of exclusion” her entire life.
“I trained for years to become a firefighter and was denied the opportunity because the Los Angeles Fire Department prioritized hiring their employees’ family members. I served in the Marine Corps under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ where I had to hide my authentic self. It’s time to rewrite the rules so that someone’s last name, zip code, age, race, gender or sexual identity doesn’t determine their destiny. That’s what I intend to do as a state senator,” she said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Still. My. Shero. I’ve lived my entire political life knowing I could never be as bad-ass, brave or resilient as @JackieSpeier — and that’s ok. No one can be.”
- Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Rep. Jackie Speier said Tuesday she would not run for re-election, a decision that ends the congressional career of one of the House’s leading women’s right champions, via David Lightman.
California Latino advocacy and voting rights groups are opposing the state’s preliminary redistricting maps, claiming the proposed lines do not reflect the state’s growing Latino population, via Kim Bojórquez.
California schools next month will wrap up their fourth semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. Children ages 5 to 11 soon will have to get vaccines to attend. Now, some parents and doctors want to know what it will take to lift California’s school mask mandate, via Lara Korte.