UPTE One-Day Strike Gets Support of Thousands Across UC System

Thousands of workers, students and faculty support UPTE-CWA Local 9119 members in unfair labor practice strike at UC campuses.

UPTE-CWA members at the University of California held a one-day unfair labor practice strike that turned into a huge day of action, with thousands of students and faculty members supporting the fight against devastating budget cuts on campuses statewide.

"The administration may have never seen a coalition of students, faculty and staff as strong as ours," UPTE leaders said. "With a united voice we sent a clear message to UC President Mark Yudof, the UC regents and ultimately the governor that their policies are not acceptable."

UC management has threatened CWA members with temporary layoffs, unilaterally increased health care costs, cut other benefits and has refused to bargain fairly over core issues, CWA Local 9119 officers said. The local has filed unfair labor practices charges against UC to force it bargain fairly.

The UC system was hit hard by cuts in state funding, but Yudof has mismanaged those reductions by implementing "illegal, unilateral cuts to the university's core research and educational functions" while giving UC executives raises of up to 30 percent, or $52,000 a year, said CWA Local 9119 President Jelger Kalmijn.

The strike was supported by the University of California Students Association, the Coalition of University Employees and other unions representing UC workers, and faculty and graduate student groups. CWA Local 9119 represents 9,000 technical and research workers.