17 striking workers cited during sit-in at UC president's office in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO — Seventeen striking academic workers were issued citations while participating in a sit-in at the University of California president's office in Sacramento, police said Monday evening.
The Sacramento Police Department said the 17 cited were cooperative and face misdemeanor charges. Police did not specify why they were cited but said there was no conflict.
United Auto Workers 2865, which represents tens of thousands of academic workers nationwide, said while workers staged a sit-in at the president's office, more than 2,000 other workers gathered for a march outside the California State Capitol in downtown Sacramento.
Additionally, a group of workers held a sit-in at the president's Oakland office.
"The stakes are incredibly high, and the UC is not demonstrating that they understand that," said Jess Banks, a member of the bargaining team at UC Berkeley. "UC thinks they can end negotiations and send us back to work, but this strike will continue until they stop breaking the law and settle a fair contract."
What has been the largest academic strike in U.S. history has reached its fourth week. In mid-November, approximately 48,000 unionized academic workers — including researchers, postdoctoral scholars, tutors, teaching assistants and graders — walked off the job with demands including fair pay, a respectful work environment, housing, and international student fees.
Last week, UC postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers reached a tentative labor deal that includes higher wages and cost-of-living increases. But for 36,000 academic student employees and student researchers, the union said its heard crickets since its latest wages proposal.
"Instead of bargaining in good faith, the University of California has forced their workers to take drastic action to call attention to their unfair labor practices and unlivable wages. Our living conditions are unacceptable considering the UC is one of the largest employers in the state. We will not stop until we receive fair contracts," said Elias Bunting, a student researcher in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis.
In a statement on the ongoing strike, UAW 1865 President Rafael Jaime said the UC attempted to end the strike by passing an inadequate proposal late at night.
"[UC] President Michael Drake should be second-guessing that decision today. We're not done yet, and disruption will continue," Jaime said.