UAW Strike at UC Davis
11.15.2022 | Today is day two of the UAW strike in the University of California school system, with an estimated 48,000 professors, postdocs, graders, researchers, and others currently on strike in the state, with thousands more joining in solidarity. This is the largest U.S. strike of 2022, and it comes after more than a year of negotiations (list of the UC’s unlawful bargaining actions here), worsening labor conditions, and major raises in the cost of living.
Today at U.C. Davis, the Russel picket had upwards of six hundred participants and their supporters, with banners, signs, resource sharing, and free hot meals. Speakers discussed maintaining strikers and addressing their needs to be able to continue the long-term strike they say is needed to keep pressure on. Numerous student groups participated, including U.C. Davis’ Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Cops Off Campus. While today was marked as a non-negotiation day, pressure forced the university system to come to the bargaining table at 2 PM, an announcement that was met by a roaring cheer from the crowd.
Academic worker’s stated demands (1, 2) include bringing graduate workers out of rent burden (which the Federal Reserve defines as 30% of income or more going to housing), guaranteeing childcare and housing, better support for immigrant employees (especially in reference to student visas and the cost of required speech tests), and a strengthening of rules around a respectful and non-discriminatory workplace. If bargaining is successful, graduate and Academic worker salaries would still take up less than 2% of the University of California’s yearly operating budget.
It is impossible to view outside the context of the U.S. labor renaissance of the past several years, with major wins at huge companies like Starbucks, Apple, and Amazon, and the largest private-sector nursing strike in U.S. history. UAW victories thus far include new protections against bullying and harassment, protections against unjust discipline, and improvements in accessibility.
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Description “Stories from Our 2022 Campaign for a Fair UC.” Fair UC Now, https://www.fairucnow.org/. See also: https://www.fairucnow.org/bargaining/
“Faculty resources for the 2022 UAW academic workers' Strike” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YyGJh4fVeThSIaKBdce-gb6Bc7BxWqVk/edit
“UAW Framework” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NBEURM2U-Fe58aA5noiETsiBpiqBfvqemNDio_jAY-c/edit
Gurley, Lauren Kaori. “In Largest Strike of 2022, California Academic Workers Walk Off Job.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 15 Nov. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/11/14/university-california-strike-academic-workers-union/.
“Starbucks Workers United.” Starbucks Workers United, https://sbworkersunited.org/.
Kullgren, Ian. “Apple Union Win Shows Labor Gains in Organizing-Resistant South.” Bloomberg Law, 17 Oct. 2022, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/apple-union-victory-shows-labors-gains-in-union-resistant-south.
Amazon Labor Union, https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/.
Muoio, Dave. “Largest Private-Sector Nurses' Strike in U.S. History Kicks off across 16 Minnesota Hospitals.” Fierce Healthcare, 12 Sept. 2022, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/over-15000-minnesota-nurses-across-15-hospitals-sign-labor-strike.
Larrimore, Jeff, et al. “Assessing the Severity of Rent Burden on Low-Income Families.” The Fed - Assessing the Severity of Rent Burden on Low-Income Families, https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/assessing-the-severity-of-rent-burden-on-low-income-families-20171222.html#:~:text=Consistent%20with%20the%20U.S.%20Department,as%20more%20than%2050%20percent.
