At press time, about 48,000 academic workers at 10 University of California campuses, from San Diego north to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ended day three of an unfair labor practice strike. This labor action closed classrooms and research labs systemwide. Bread and butter issues underscored the strike.
“The biggest sticking point, both today and in previous sessions, centers on compensation,” said Rafael Jaime, president of UAW Local 2865, which represents 19,000 of the 48,000 workers, in a statement on strike day one. Insufficient wage income drove the nearly 50,000 academic workers to walk off the job. That economy-wide trend of wages that fail to keep pace with prices of goods and services manifests itself on several fronts, from health care to shelter and transit.
“The University’s proposals do not adequately address the affordable housing crisis confronting our members, according to Jaime. “UC also wants to limit and control our earnings by calling some of it “student support,” which would block a portion of our pay from being covered by our union contract. If the University had its way, they could reduce our pay unilaterally or take it away, undermining our rights at the bargaining table. We believe we must collectively bargain over all of our compensation, ensure transparency, and guarantee that people are being treated fairly.”
California’s crisis of affordable housing is one in which demand exceeds supply. This imbalance hikes prices. It is worth noting that unaffordable housing in the Golden State precedes the current spate of inflation, a general rise in prices.
Menelik Tafari, 32, is a fourth year Ph.D. student in urban schooling, graduate student researcher, organizer and teacher assistant at UCLA. He walked the picket line with fellow strikers, upset with the economics of their occupations.
“This September was the first time in four years that UC paid me on time,” he said. “I have seen family; friends and peers suffer at the hands of UC. Not only are we not paid an equitable living wage but also intermittently.”
Inadequate UC funding drives the precarious nature of Tafari’s wage income, according to him. He is not alone. The base pay of some striking UC academic workers is $23,000-$24,000 a year, or around $2,000 per month, Tafari said. “That is not enough to pay for rent, food and transit in LA and California,” he said.
In the meantime, we turn to compensation for UC chancellors. Earlier this year, they received salary hikes of 6% to 28%, increasing their annual pay from roughly $522,000 to $640,000, according to EdSource.
Ryan King is a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President. “The University of California continues to negotiate in good faith as we do everything possible to mitigate the impacts of any strike on student learning and our research enterprise,” according to him in a statement. “The current University proposal would set the standard for graduate academic employee support among public research universities. It is important to note that our graduate student employees work strictly on a part-time basis while earning their graduate or doctoral degree and that compensation is just one of the many ways in which they get support as students during their time with the University.
“We believe that the best path to an agreement is with the aid of a third-party mediator, and have proposed to the United Auto Workers enlisting the assistance of a neutral private mediator so that we can achieve a compromise. We continue to encourage the union’s partnership in pursuing mediation.”
Seth Sandronsky lives and works in Sacramento. He is a journalist and member of the Pacific Media Workers Guild. Email sethsandronsky@gmail.com.
From The Progressive Populist, December 15, 2022
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