Strike at University of California is over
2022.12.27 07:30
Strike at University of California is over
Budrigannews.com – College of California (UC) scholarly laborers finished an almost six-week strike on Friday that associations depicted as the greatest work stoppage ever at a U.S. foundation of advanced education.
On November 14, thousands of academic staff members went on strike at UC campuses across the state, forming picket lines and holding loud protests to demand higher wages for teaching assistants and other staff members.
In California’s flagship university system, final exams, study sessions, and paper grading were all disrupted by the walkout.
Union leaders stated that after the winter break, approximately 48,000 academic workers represented by the United Auto Workers will return to work in January following ratification votes by large majorities of two fractious UAW bargaining units.
Teaching assistants, researchers, tutors, and other graduate student instructors from all ten UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (NYSE:) were among the striking scholars.
Executive director of systemwide labor relations Letitia Silas released a statement that read, “The University of California welcomes the ratification of these agreements with our valued graduate student employees.”
She went on to say, “Today’s ratification demonstrates yet again the strong commitment of the University to provide all of our hardworking employees with competitive compensation and benefit packages that honor their many contributions to our institution, our community, and the state of California.”
With a starting salary of $24,000 per year for part-time employees, the union claimed that its members were in deep debt at the start of the strike.
After a series of discussions, university administrators and union leaders came to an agreement last week. This week, thousands of striking academic employees began voting to ratify the agreement with the University of California.
University and union supporters hailed the agreement as a landmark labor agreement that would raise wages and improve working conditions for graduate students employed by public universities.
Leaders of the two UAW union locals that represent the 36,000 graduate students covered by the agreement claim that the agreement would provide wage increases of up to 66% over the contract’s two-and-a-half-year term.
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According to the university, the minimum nine-month salary for teaching assistants will increase to $34,500 at other campuses and $36,500 at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, and UCLA by fall term 2024.
The deal was criticized for reneging on union demands to link wage gains to housing costs, and some opponents claimed that it fails to address the high costs of living that graduate students face in expensive cities where many UC campuses are located.
