November issue: UC academic workers vote to strike!
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On November 14, everyday life at the ten campuses of the University of California will come to a halt as up to 48,000 workers – postdocs, graduate student researchers, teaching assistants (TAs) and graduate student instructors (GSIs), tutors, and readers – go on strike. The workers, represented by UAW 5810, UAW 2865 and the newly-formed SRU-UAW, voted to authorize a strike this week. An eye-popping 36,558 workers participated in the vote, and 98% of votes were cast in favor of strike authorization. The three unions are simultaneously bargaining for four contracts, in a historic and massive organizing effort. And they’re asking for the public to give to their strike fund and join them on the picket line.
Galen Liang is an international student in his second year of work towards a Ph.D. in mathematics at UC Berkeley. “We were already under severe financial stress before this period of inflation. Rent has been skyrocketing,” he told the Picket Line. Liang’s insurance has a high deductible, and he has a medical condition which requires frequent check-ups for which he must pay out of pocket. He cannot afford to fly home for visits, and when he shops for groceries, he makes frequent use of coupons. “My base pay as a GSI is around $2,300 a month, which the department tops off to $3,000.” Liang explained. “We want to be paid a reasonable wage, and for pay to have only one source.” Liang has to work through the summer, because otherwise he would only be paid for ten months.
In addition to better compensation, the union is also asking for a better child care stipend. Liang points out that lack of good child care amounts to discrimination against caregivers, disproportionately women.
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Workers held massive rallies across UC campuses preceding the strike vote and filled out strike organizing commitment cards. Source: @uaw2865
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The union has already had some victories, winning contract language which helps protect workers against harassment and exploitation. “Some chemistry and biology researchers have had to work 14-hour days in the lab – and the PIs still call them lazy!” Liang noted.
Liang says he and his colleagues are inspired by the recent strikes at Columbia University, and that they, in turn, hope to inspire workers at other schools. Liang is also inspired by the successful organizing by workers at Amazon, Starbucks, and Chipotle, to whom he feels a kinship. “Paychecks should reflect the benefits of a person’s work,” he said.
Academic workers have also demanded support from their department chairs. Some UC faculty are sympathetic, though Liang says that there are a few who take the approach of: “I got through okay – why can’t you?” However, the stipends paid decades ago were more generous and went further toward costs of living. Today’s workers say the university’s compensation offers have failed to keep up with inflation and rising housing and food costs. Dr. Arjun Dey, now an astronomer at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, was a graduate student in astronomy at UC Berkeley in the 1980s. He recalls being paid $16,500 in 1986 ($44,600 in 2022 dollars). He shared an ADU, which cost a total of $600/month through the early 90’s; the average rental in Berkeley is now over $3,000/month.
The undergraduates at Berkeley with whom Liang has interacted are almost all enthusiastically supportive of the workers. “When I told them we might go on strike, they said, ‘Cool! How can we help?” Liang invited them to join him on the picket line – to which we are all invited too.
Thanks to Dan P. for contributing this month’s feature. For more information on how to support UC academic workers, visit FairUCNow.org and donate to their strike fund. If you want to be contacted about opportunities to support the strikers on the picket line, sign up with DSA’s solidarity campaign here. California DSA released a powerful statement in support of academic workers.
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Energetic rallies preceded this week’s historic strike vote. Berkeley’s rally drew 1,500 workers. Source: @uaw2865
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The Picket Line 
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