Negotiations to end a strike by University of California teaching assistants, graduate student instructors, tutors and readers has entered a seventh consecutive day.
Details on Wednesday’s negotiations were not immediately available.
Unions representing the striking workers on Wednesday called for speakers to respect picket lines and cancel all events scheduled to take place on UC campuses, said Rafael Jaime, president of UAW Local 2865.
The California Labor Federation has sanctioned the strike and is asking all elected officials to respect the strike sanction by canceling speaking engagements and meetings on UC campuses until an agreement is reached that would end the strike, said Lorena González Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation.
UAW is not calling for undergraduates to boycott their classes or for employees with no-strikes clauses and non-represented employees to take actions that could jeopardize their employment.
“The University of California respects the right of bargaining unit members to engage in a strike,” Ryan King, associate director of media relations, University of California Office of the President, told City News Service.
“The university continues to bargain in good faith and we hope to reach a fair agreement as soon as possible. Until then, our campuses will continue to work to mitigate any disruptions to their teaching, research, and other activities.”
About 48,000 workers, including 17,000 student researchers, at UC San Diego, the nine other University of California campuses and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory went on strike Monday, seeking higher salaries and greater annual raises, free public transit passes, improved child care benefits and greater job security.
The strike is the nation’s largest since 2019, the largest at any academic institution, and first by postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers, according to Jaime.
–City News Service