Tensions Brewing over Deal to End UC Academic Workers’ Strike
UC Santa Barbara’s Bargaining Team Members Vote No on Tentative Agreements, Rally Others to Strike Them Down
After a month of protests, rallies, and back-and-forth negotiations, all four union bargaining teams representing 48,000 striking UC student employees have reached agreements with the university. However, some student workers, including at UC Santa Barbara, where the cost of living is one of the highest among UC campuses, are not yet willing to ditch the picket line or the bargaining table.
Technically, all that’s left for the strike to officially end is for graduate student researchers and academic student employees — including teaching assistants, tutors, and readers — to ratify their new contracts, which were announced on December 16. But, of course, it’s not that simple.
Fifteen out of 37 voting bargaining team members voted no on the tentative agreement, including four alternates, at UCSB, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Merced. The vote at UCSB was 100 percent, with all four bargaining team members voting no.
