Thousands of academic staff at the University of California went on strike across six campuses due to dissatisfaction with the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian protest activities. On Monday, the striking academic staff were compelled to return to work following a court order, but the school union stated that they would continue to protest.
Last Friday, the Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall Sherman approved a temporary restraining order requested by the University of California, stating that the strike stemmed from non-labor issues, violating the no-strike clause in the union contract.
Melissa Matella, the university’s vice chancellor for labor relations, welcomed the decision, stating in a statement that “the continuation of the strike will cause irreparable damage to students’ academic progress and may lead to critical research projects stalling in their final quarter.”
Initially, the university filed a complaint with the California Public Employment Relations Board, but the board twice rejected their requests for a restraining order.
This strike marks the first union-backed solidarity protest activity in response to the increase in pro-Palestinian student support movements on dozens of American university campuses in recent months.
Organized by the United Auto Workers Local 4811, representing approximately 48,000 academic student employees, graduate student researchers, academic researchers, and postdoctoral researchers at ten University of California campuses and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the strike at the University of California involved six out of ten campuses.
The academic staff expressed dissatisfaction with what they consider “unfair” labor practices by the university in handling pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks.
UAW Local 4811 leaders condemned the Orange County Superior Court’s decision, accusing the judge of disregarding the authority of the employment relations board and intervening in labor affairs beyond the court’s jurisdiction, as reported by Reuters.
Nevertheless, the union stated that its members will comply with the court order, with UAW Local 4811 concentrating on addressing the grievances soon to be filed against the university.
Moreover, the union called for the pardon of graduate students and other academic workers who have been arrested or faced disciplinary actions for participating in pro-Palestinian campus protest activities.
The protest strike began at the University of California, Santa Cruz campus on May 20, expanding over the following two weeks to the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Davis near Sacramento, and the campuses of San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Irvine. These six campuses have approximately 31,500 UAW members.
A hearing on whether to extend the injunction will be held by the Orange County Superior Court judge on June 27. The union’s strike authorization expires on June 30.