36,000 graduate student workers at the University of California ratified a contract last Friday, ending a six-week strike. While the contract represents historic gains (increasing some wages by 40 to 50 percent or more), a significant portion of union members voted “no” as they felt that certain key demands (such as tying wages to the cost of living and demands around accessibility) were dropped. The UC and New School strikes have sent shockwaves across the country. We hope to learn from their organizing successes, and we continue to stand in solidarity with our fellow graduate students and adjuncts across the country as they keep fighting for better wages and working conditions.
Here is some information and a few perspectives about UC’s new contract:
From the LA Times, a summary of some of the contract details: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-23/uc-grad-student-workers-ratify-labor-agreement-end-historic-strike-with-big-wage-gains
A statement from UC Santa Cruz, where a majority of union members voted “no:” https://drive.google.com/file/d/14phR4l4oseH16dbPQ72DbceFei2nlh_K/view
A solidarity statement by undergraduate students at UC: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W3v_RQbE2_GCKSLZRQz0-5iVkyospudQrRsmrnE5d_U/edit
An article from the Disability Justice Committee at UC Davis: https://www.ucequity.org/news/im-disabled-too-insights-on-the-access-needs-divide-and-the-call-for-a-no-vote
Here’s a breakdown of the vote by campus:
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