Tens of Thousands of Academic Workers Go on Strike Across 10 UC Campuses
UC Santa Barbara Picket Line Part of Largest Walkout in History of U.S. Higher Education
The sound of beating drums, hundreds of shuffling feet, and various impassioned chants such as “U-C-S-B — keeping us in poverty!” rang out across the UC Santa Barbara campus as a mobile picket line marched through the University’s grounds on Monday, marking the first day of the largest walkout in the history of U.S. higher education.
Striking employees at UCSB make up about 3,100 of the total 48,000 academic workers represented by the United Auto Workers union (UAW) — including teaching assistants, postdocs, academic student employees, graduate student researchers, academic researchers, readers, tutors, and more — from all 10 campuses of the University of California protesting against 28 alleged Unfair Labor Practices committed by the University.
According to union representatives, these alleged unlawful practices have interfered with the union’s ability to bargain effectively for a better contract to meet the cost of living, among other proposals.
