United Auto Workers (UAW) 4811 members went on strike Monday, June 3 at UC San Diego over the University of California’s response to pro-Palestine demonstrations. The union consists of a total of 48,000 teaching assistants, readers, tutors, student researchers, postdocs, and academic researchers, 8,000 of whom work for UC San Diego.
Among their reasoning for striking, they cite “violent attacks on peaceful pro-Palestine protesters,” “Summoning the police to forcibly eject and arrest UAW Local 4811 members,” and “Disciplining employees for engaging in peaceful protest.” Part of a larger stand-up strike among the UC campuses, the graduate students at UCSD join UC Los Angeles, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Santa Barbara in suspending their work until agreements are met concerning:
- Amnesty for all academic employees, students, student groups, faculty, and staff who face disciplinary action or arrest due to protest.
- Protecting the right to free speech and political expression on campus.
- Divestment from UC’s known investments in weapons manufacturers, military contractors, and companies profiting from Israel’s war on Gaza.
- Disclosure of all funding sources and investments, including contracts, grants, gifts, and investments, through a publicly available, publicly accessible, and up-to-date database.
- Empowering researchers to opt out from funding sources tied to the military or oppression of Palestinians. The UC must provide centralized transitional funding to workers whose funding is tied to the military or foundations that support Palestinian oppression
The UCSD Divest Coalition’s Instagram page is posting daily programming for the “liberated zone” they have established at Warren Mall.
The Triton will provide live updates below throughout the strike’s duration:
Day 2: Tuesday, June 4
6:55 p.m. update:
On June 3, 2024, The Regents of the University of California filed a “complaint for damages and injunctive relief” against UAW to the Superior Court of the State of California in Orange County. Their main allegation is that, by calling a strike, UAW has breached a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which includes a “no-strike” clause, prohibiting UAW’s ability to call a strike between “December 23, 2022, through May 31, 2025.”
They allege, also, that UAW has breached Labor Code section 1126, which states that a breach of a CBA “‘by any party thereto shall be subject to the same remedies, including injunctive relief, as are available on other contracts in the courts of this State.’” The filing refutes UAW’s claim that the strike was called “to protest unfair employment practices by the University,” citing communications from UAW which, “indicated that [the strike] was called to protest the conflict in the Middle East and to force the University to divest from companies that do business with Israel.”
Despite the document acknowledging that UAW’s “first and most prominent demand was divestment…” the Regents claim that “These issues [referring to Israel and Gaza] have nothing to do with the terms and conditions of employment for UAW bargaining unit members.”
Day 1: Monday, June 3
6:20 p.m. update:
From approximately 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., graduate and undergraduate students participated in a walking tour of buildings with alleged connections to Israel. The tour walked to the Social Sciences building, School of Global Policy and Strategy, Wells Fargo Hall, and Jacobs Hall. UCSD Divest Coalition also created a virtual tour to accompany the walking tour, which explains the connections to Israel. While stopped at each building, demonstrators banged on pots and pans “to disrupt business as usual.”
1:50 p.m. update:
UAW 4811’s opening rally started at 11:00 a.m. in front of Geisel Library. Following multiple speakers condemning the police response to the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and calling for amnesty of those arrested, the crowd marched down Library Walk and temporarily blocked traffic along Gilman Drive. The rally concluded at Warren Mall around 12:30 p.m.
Finnegan Bly is the Assistant Arts and Culture Editor for The Triton. Liam Winstead is the Managing Editor for The Triton.
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