On June 4, after an eighteen-month campaign, the University of California Student Workers Union (UAW 2865) won a game-changing contract.
The union, which represents 13,000 teaching assistants, readers and tutors, gave priority to class size and civil rights issues during bargaining. The university disciplined the TAs for picketing, and the UAW responded with “unfair labor practice” charges and two system-wide strikes.
In June, as a third strike loomed, the two sides signed an unprecedented agreement. In addition to progress on wages, the contract addresses such things as growing class sizes, opportunities for undocumented students, and expanded parental leave and childcare support. The contract also includes provisions on gender-neutral bathrooms.
—Josh Brahinsky, Michelle Glowa and Jonathan Smucker…