Thousands of University of California lecturers are going to picket as many as nine different campuses across the state over accusations of unfair labor practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
A strike of this magnitude has the potential to affect class schedules for thousands of students across the state, according to reporting by KTTV in Los Angeles.
The "Unfair Labor Practice Strike" is being organized by the University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT), a union that represents nontenured faculty. Approximately 6,000 lecturers are members, teaching about a third of credit classes within the UC system, UC-AFT Communications Chair Caroline Luce told KCBS Radio in an interview on Wednesday.
The strike would begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, according to the union.
"A strike is likely, but not inevitable," Luce, a labor historian at UCLA, told KCBS Radio, noting UC-AFT and UC negotiatiors could still be bargaining early Wednesday morning.
Negotiations with the UC system have been ongoing for the past two years, and during that time, UC-AFT filed five unfair labor practice charges against them for various issues, including refusals to bargain and disagreement over contract terms, according to the UC-AFT website.
The union filed two new unfair labor practice charges in just the last 10 days, alleging that UC officials have displayed a lack of cooperation in negotiating over impasse procedures and paid family leave.
UC management has shown "a clear pattern of disrespect, lack of consideration, and unlawful actions, all of which interferes with our negotiating process and undermines our collective bargaining rights," the UC-AFT website read.
The UC system didn't respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment prior to publication.
UC campuses affected include Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz, Merced, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles and Irvine.
"For a lot of us, this will be the first time many of our members have ever gone on strike ... and I think a success for me will mean our members feel empowered, they feel the momentum and they feel the support of all our allies, students and friends," Luce said.
The lecturers might not be alone on the picket line if they ultimately strike.
The Council of UC Faculty Associations, which represents Senate faculty across the system, wrote in a letter to UC President Michael Drake on Sunday that many of its members had pledged to honor the picket line. As of Tuesday night, about 790 members – including almost 130 professors at UC campuses in Berkeley and San Francisco, the former of which is not expected to have a strike – pledged to honor the picket line by not teaching in person or online, not responding to work-related emails, not conducting campus-related service duties and not coming to campus unless they're picketing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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