University of California employees say they’re prepared to walk off the job by Friday if school officials don’t negotiate with them.
Academic workers at UC Santa Cruz already walked off the job on Monday. United Auto Workers Local 4811, the union representing nearly 50,000 UC workers and student employees, shared a photo on X of picket signs outside the UC Santa Cruz sign.
On May 15, the union voted to authorize a strike over how the school handled the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The union said their free speech rights were violated when police moved in and arrested people during the pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
On Tuesday, university officials announced that the school filed for injunctive relief with the state Public Employment Relations Board to ban the strike, saying it would cause the school and students “irreparable harm.”
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
“UAW’s strike is unlawful because the goal is to pressure the University to concede to a list of politically motivated demands closely linked to the protests occurring across California and the nation,” according to a press release by the school.
UAW wrote on X that it would file a response on Wednesday.
KNX News Jon Baird spoke to one man who said he believes the strike isn’t fair to students or to the institution.
“I think people have free speech rights. We should vigorously protect those,” he said. “But when you're infringing on the rights of other people and their ability to get an education and provide an education, I think you've crossed the line.”
On May 2, police dismantled the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA. More than 200 people were arrested.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok