SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Lecturers at nine UC campuses throughout the state participating in a two-day strike, canceling their classes Wednesday and Thursday in a protest against what they call “unfair labor practices.”
The University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents the UC lecturers, says its members are walking out of their classrooms to take action against “bad-faith bargaining” by UC President Michael Drake’s administration. Over the weekend, 91% of the union’s members voted to authorize the strike.
The union has been in negotiations with the UC administration for more than two years. Union members say they want better pay and job security, among other things. Lecturers, unlike faculty, are not eligible for tenure and often subject to a high rate of turnover.
The system as a whole employs about 6,000 lecturers.
Katie Rodger, president of the UC-AFT Davis chapter, said the strike is about a “pattern of bad faith bargaining practices.” It’s unclear how many of UC Davis’ 500 lecturers will participate in the strike, but those who do are expected to cancel classes, suspend office hours and refrain from doing any class work, like answering emails or grading papers.
Under labor laws, the university is allowed to dock the pay of employees who withhold labor, though it’s unclear if the administration intends to do this.
“I hope that the administration sees our solidarity, sees the amount of time and energy that lecturers have been putting into holding the university accountable for how it treats us, and how important it is to all of us that they do, in fact, bargain in good faith,” Rodger said.
The lecturers teach one third of credit courses at the University of California, according to UC-AFT.
Lecturers at UC Merced also are expected to participate in the strike, along with lecturers at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Irvine and UC San Diego. UC San Francisco is not expected to see a strike.
Rodger said she anticipates some lawmakers will also make an appearance in support, but would not say who.
The University of California Office of the President on Monday said in a written response to the planned strike that the university has met with union leaders in good faith. The office said the university has offered substantial pay increases, lecturer appointments at the end of each term, and more stability in job expectations, along with other improvements, the Merced Sun-Star reported.
“Withholding instruction is grossly unfair to our students and a strike does not move us closer to a contract,” UC officials said in the written statement. “The union’s unfair labor practice claims against UC are neither supported by the facts nor any finding by the California Public Employment Relations Board.”
Katie Arosteguy, a lecturer in the University Writing Program at UC Davis, said the strike is “a short-term sacrifice for long-term gains.”
Arosteguy, who also works as vice president for grievances for UC-AFT statewide, said the university’s bargaining stance demonstrates a clear pattern of disrespect toward lecturers and students.
“Lecturers want nothing more than to teach and be with their students right now, but we must stand up to UC’s bad behavior because it affects our ability to be the best teachers we can to our students,” Arosteguy said.
The lecturers accuse UC administration of refusing to bargain on paid family leave, the effects of layoffs of lecturers at UC Davis, and over settlement terms after improperly withholding employer retirement contributions. UC-AFT also says the university has rejected mutually agreed-to contract terms for additional compensation for online instruction and essential teaching supplies, along with other grievances listed on the labor union’s web site.
“Rather than negotiate in good faith, President Drake’s representatives issue unlawful take-it-or-leave-it ultimatums that deprive us of our basic rights,” UC-AFT President Mia McIver said in a news release. “This is bad faith bargaining.”
Over the past 20 months, the labor union has filed several unfair labor practices charges with the California Public Employment Relations Board, according to the UC-AFT news release. Union members say administrators violated labor laws by trying to reach an agreement outside of formal bargaining practices.
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