As hundreds of striking academic workers picketed UC Santa Cruz on Monday, alleging that the University of California's response to pro-Palestinian protesters had been hostile, a group of protesters moved their camp to the other side of campus.
Protesters moved their former camp (which included tents and sleeping bags) to the university entrance to be closer to striking academic workers who allege their free speech rights were violated when peaceful demonstrations elsewhere campuses were responded to with violence.
The strike, which was announced Friday, is the first in a possible series of labor actions at universities across the UC system. Union leaders claim the response to university protests amounted to unfair labor practices and demand that UC officials negotiate with pro-Palestinian protesters.
The strike was voted on by members of United Auto Workers Local 4811, which represents about 48,000 graduate students, teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and other academic workers.
On Monday, students and other pro-Palestinian supporters moved their camp across campus, joining striking workers along the main road to UC Santa Cruz, where they would be more visible.
“We want to put more pressure on UC,” said a media liaison for protesters known as Shiv, a first-year politics student at the university. “Now we are ready to act and force them to pay attention to us.”
Striking academic workers picket at UC Santa Cruz on Monday.
(Jessica Garrison/Los Angeles Times)
UC officials have called the job action illegal, arguing that academic workers have a valid contract with a no-strike clause. They have filed an unfair practice complaint against the union.
The attack comes amid a flurry of university camps set up by students and other protesters, who have at times occupied university buildings while calling for an end to Israel's military attacks on Gaza.
In California, some of those encampments have been cleared with a significant police presence. At UCLA, more than 200 people were arrested in a smoke-filled standoff with police that lasted two days. At UC Irvine, law enforcement agencies from across Orange County wearing riot gear broke up an encampment and arrested 47 protesters.
Police were also called to break up encampments at UC San Diego, Cal Poly Humboldt and USC. By contrast, protesters at UC Riverside and UC Berkeley reached agreements with university officials to dismantle the encampments without any police interaction.
UC Davis students have managed to maintain their camp for almost two weeks without any confrontation with the university.
UC Santa Cruz protesters have remained on campus for about three weeks. “I am appalled by what Israel is doing to Palestine,” Shiv said Monday.
Striking workers demand that UC officials negotiate with pro-Palestinian protesters and grant amnesty to those who may face disciplinary action.
As part of the reason for the strike, the union cited an attack on protesters at the UCLA camp and the arrest of union members there. Union officials called the incident “an attack on our fundamental right to free expression.”
Social media posts suggest the strike could spread to other UC campuses, including UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Davis and UC San Diego.
