The 15,000 members of AFSCME 3299’s patient-care unit, plus 9,000 from AFSCME’s service unit and 15,000 research, technical and health-care professionals represented by UPTE-CWA, have announced a strike for October 23 through 25.
According to the Sacramento Bee, “Both AFSCME and UPTE-CWA have been negotiating with the UC for more than a year, and their leaders say negotiations have stalled over issues such as outsourcing, pay, retirement benefits and health-care premiums.”
As you probably are aware, analogous issues are also concerning to all employees including faculty.
UC-AFT represented librarians will likely be doing informational tabling in front of Shields all day Tuesday in support of the UPTE/AFSCME strike, and to express their dismay over the position UC negotiators have taken which denies that the principle of Academic Freedom applies to UC Librarians, a matter of grave concern to the DFA.
The board of the Davis Faculty Association expresses support for the upcoming strike and encourages members and non-members to express their support in whatever way they deem appropriate.
At the moment, there are plans to form a picket line on the main UCD campus at Hutchinson and La Rue. At a minimum, the unions would welcome DFA members and UCD faculty on their picket lines and at any demonstrations organized. If you need to come to campus but wish to show support, you can:
Hold class on the picket line or in another alternate off-campus location, as long as accessibility is assured for all students.
Teach the issues, much as you would any other important current event that you might address in your class: instruct students in what a labor union is, what kind of work AFSCME 3299 members perform to sustain the university and hospitals, how a strike happens and what it means.
Express solidarity with the unions. Tag them in social media posts and use these hashtags: #3299Strong, #inequality, #UCUnionsUnited, #solidarity.
More information about the bargaining and strike is available in further coverage from the Sacramento Bee.