UC Santa Barbara academic workers join statewide strike over ‘appalling’ labor practices

Workers picketed and rallied at UC Santa Barbara on Monday on the first day of a union strike at all 10 University of California campuses.

UAW 2865, UAW 5810 and the UAW Student Researchers United workers — including teaching assistants, tutors, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and researchers — are striking for increased wages and benefits and have accused the UC system of unfair labor practices.

“The university does not believe that we can stand up to them,” fifth-year UCSB physics graduate student Joseph Costello said to a crowd of cheering picketers on Monday.

“They are big, they are powerful, they are a machine and they don’t want you to think about this,” said Costello, who is an organizer with Student Researchers United. “They don’t want to think about where the money goes. They don’t want you to think about what public education means. They don’t want you to think about how you’re gonna make ends meet.

“They want you to shut up, pay your tuition and churn you into a profitable job candidate. So you made a ton of money working a soulless job, and give a bunch of your money to your alma f— mater.”

UCSB postdoctoral student and UAW 5810 Santa Barbara Campus Chair Evan Plunkett said that they were expecting 1,500 to 2,000 picketers on Monday. Plunket said he is heartened to see so many people show up to hold the UC system accountable.

“It’s been a difficult process,” Plunkett said. “We understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it’s truly exciting to see so many people really critically engaging with what it means to make a stronger, more equitable and diverse academia.”

Among the core demands outlined on the official UC Academic Workers website, is fair compensation.

The UC Academic Workers’ core demand is a $54,000-a-year minimum salary for all graduate workers, $70,000-a-year minimum salary for postdoctoral researchers, a 14% salary increase for academic researchers and an annual cost of living adjustment and experience-based wage increase.

“We’re not striking for a raise,” fourth-year PhD UCSB student Misa Nguyen said. “We’re striking more to make sure the university bargains with us in good faith, and we can get a livable contract. And that again, because of that, the university has the ability to end the strike whenever they want by agreeing to resolve those unfair practices, so that is completely up to them how long the strike lasts. We just want to get back to our students.”

Nguyen has been involved with the strike effort at UCSB since this summer.

Nguyen said that the living conditions in Santa Barbara make it difficult to teach and do research to her fullest extent.

Most recently, because inflation has gotten so bad, she said there was a solid month where she skipped meals in order to pay rent.

The last UC system strike was in 2020 following the firing of several faculty members and held illegally.

“It was very much a different set of stakes,” Nguyen said. “This strike is legally protected, and it’s been called by our union. So we were under full union protection for the whole time.”

Nguyen said that members of the union must sign up to strike for 20 hours a week and the union compensates them with $400 a week. This is $100 less than Nguyen makes working as a student researcher.

Professor Eric Smith, who has been working in the Political Science Department at UCSB since 1986, was among faculty members standing in solidarity with the academic workers Monday.

Smith said some of the PhD students he is working with have discussed leaving the program because they cannot afford to live in Santa Barbara.

“That’s a disaster,” Smith said. Smith said that he and other university faculty members donate to an unofficial food bank to support their students.

“I shouldn’t be donating to a food bank to support my graduate students,” Smith said. “That’s appalling.”

Smith said he has canceled his classes until further notice and will only be giving out grades for students who require them to continue their education such as international students, undocumented students, students receiving scholarships or loans and students applying for post-undergraduate education.

“If the university doesn’t treat its graduate students well, they will be telling other potential graduate students in all fields, not just mine, that this is not a good university to come to,” Smith said. “The cost of living is too high, and the university doesn’t support graduate students. I think in the end, in order to save a few pennies, the university is destroying the university. It’s eroding its reputation and everybody will pay.”

The UC Office of the President has said it disagrees with the UAW allegations that UC engaged in unlawful behavior. “Throughout the negotiations, UC has listened carefully to the union’s concerns and bargained in good faith, as illustrated by the many tentative agreements reached thus far, including on topics underlying the UAW’s allegations.”