As the system-wide strike by academic workers at the University of California enters its fourth day, there appears to be little movement on agreements between the UC Office of the President (UCOP) and its 48,000 teaching assistants, readers, professors, researchers, graduate undergraduates and postdoctoral students on strike for increased wages and other benefits at the university system’s 10 campuses. A steady group of about 80 protesters remained at the base of the UC Santa Cruz campus and at its west entrance throughout Wednesday, slowing vehicular traffic. Rebecca Gross, literature Ph.D. The UCSC candidate and lead steward for United Auto Workers (UAW) 2865 — which represents 19,000 academic students across the university system — said that with little movement on the bargaining front, protests will likely continue through the end of the week. About 2,000 academic workers are on strike at UCSC. “If it’s a matter of stamina, I think we’ll win the UCOP,” Gross said. Since the work action began Monday, many classes at UCSC have been canceled or moved online. UCSC spokesman Scott Hernandez-Jason said in an emailed statement that the university’s focus remains on maintaining continuity of learning for students. He said the university is providing resources to department chairs and professors to ensure that gaps caused by the strike activities are filled by substitute instructors or assignments — though he did not respond to questions about what kinds of workers are being used as substitute instructors or what it looked like in practice. “Department chairs and faculty will work together to ensure the least possible disruption to the delivery of instruction and grading, as well as research,” Hernandez-Jason wrote. UAW unit president Jack Davies said that while there has been some bargaining movement for Student Researchers United (SRU) — a new bargaining unit for UC’s 17,000 student researchers — overall, little dialogue has taken place between the two sides since the negotiations reached an impasse last weekend. There were no trades for this week as of Wednesday. “It’s mostly a matter of waiting now,” Davies said. “There doesn’t seem to be a tremendous degree of urgency between UCOP to meet at the negotiating table right now.” UCOP spokesman Ryan King said in an email Wednesday that UC believes “the best path to an agreement is with the help of a third-party mediator,” citing the more than 50 bargaining meetings that have taken place between UCOP and the four UAWs. bargaining units since talks began in April. “[We] have suggested that the United Auto Workers seek the assistance of a neutral private mediator so that we can reach a compromise,” King wrote. “We continue to encourage the union’s cooperation in pursuing mediation.” The UAW represents all 48,000 striking academic workers across UC, with four subgroups — academic researchers, academic students, graduate researchers and postdoctoral scholars — working out separate contracts with UCOP negotiators.
