Low pay, rising costs push 48,000 University of California academic workers to the picket line
More than 48,000 UC academic workers at 11 U.C. campuses are going on strike today in a fight over whether they’ll receive a fair wage during the coronavirus crisis.
About 3,000 instructors from the UC, Cal State University and community college systems across the country walked out on Monday (7.17) after University of California President Janet Napolitano “unilaterally imposed a one-day pay cut” on those who have been on non-negotiable strike pay for decades – a 10 percent cut to salaries over two years.
In a letter to Napolitano and Gov. Gavin Newsom, faculty at the University of California and Cal State University systems argued they deserve the same pay as their peers at other public institutions during the economic downturn.
“This proposed 10% reduction is an unprecedented attack on our collective bargaining rights,” the letter says. “We are being asked to make choices that undermine the fundamental rights of our employees and students.”
In the past two months, U.C. professors in California have been negotiating with the UC Board of Regents over health care benefits and wages, a decision that appears to be the most contentious in the public system.
However, since the UC Board of Regents has not yet approved the pay changes, faculty are striking.
UC employees and students are furious. Several universities have canceled classes in light of the strike, and professors are making plans to teach online classes so they can continue with their work, the Times has learned.
“Students are not getting the education they deserve,” said Amy Pletka, an education professor at UC Berkeley. “We are being asked to make choices that undermine the fundamental rights of our employees and students.”
The UC Board of Regents has asked that the strike end by May 8, which would make it one of the longest-lasting strikes in the UC system since the 1940s.
“This is a pivotal moment,” said Dr. Linda L. Pfeifer, president of the University of California. She added that all parties have the “right to a process that will result in an agreement.”
Some of the students are furious over the pay cuts.
“I am angry about this and about this university’
