Today, UC graduate workers are carrying their strike to the state capitol. Sacramento will be met with rallying United Auto Workers union members. The union represents UC graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, academic researchers and more, demanding fair wages. The rally starts at Cesar Chavez Plaza and will make its way to the University of California Office of the President.
KALW spoke with one organizing member at the Sacramento UC strike, Henry Liu. He’s a student at UC Berkeley. According to Liu, the goal of the strike today is to show their conviction towards fair pay for all students and employees. Strike members want the state legislature to demand the UC system negotiate equitably and engage in fair bargaining practices.
The UAW has reached a tentative agreement with the UC system. As of now, 12,000 postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers have been offered a 29 percent pay increase. However, the remaining 36,000 graduate workers have not come to an agreement.
Graduate employees are asking for a 145 percent increase in annual pay, from $22,000 to $54,000. For perspective, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis concludes that an income of at least $50,000 is needed to meet the average cost of living in California.
Graduate workers and UAW leaders say they will continue to strike until UC shows a willingness to meet their demands.
