The Strike: If it drags on... - Part 3 (settling in)

Nov. 16, 2022 (posted yesterday)

Yesterday, we posted a photo of student worker pickets on campus. We reproduce it here. Also shown is a photo taken at the same spot a day later. Note that the picket line is smaller. The change is symbolic of what tends to happen over time as strikes continue; it's hard to maintain the initial rush of excitement.

According to the LA Times, the UC suggestion of bringing in a mediator has been rejected by the union.* 

...Though UC officials called for a third-party mediator Monday, [Rafael] Jaime [president of United Auto Workers Local 2865] said he was glad the university has continued to bargain without one. Jaime accused UC of dragging its feet, saying the university bargained Wednesday and Thursday with only one of the four striking units: that representing graduate student researchers. “It’s very inefficient,” Jaime said. “We want to be bargaining around the clock.” ...

Nov. 17, 2022

There is also occurring a kind of bargaining in public in an attempt to influence public opinion:

...On Wednesday, UC Provost Michael Brown told university leaders in a letter that the union’s pay and housing demands would be an “overwhelming” financial hit that could reach several hundred million dollars a year. Pushing back, the union said the four UAW bargaining units representing striking workers are asking for a package that would amount to 4.5% of UC’s total budget...***

In short, the two sides seem to be settling in for a prolonged impasse. And if that occurs, we again will note the option - which we described in a prior posting, for some form of modified arbitration as part of a process to settle the dispute.**

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*https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-17/uc-strike-little-bargaining-progress-but-support-for-workers-grows.  

**http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-strike-if-it-drags-on.html.

***It's unclear what is meant by the "UC's total budget" which is $44 billion (if all elements are included). See https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4511. Thus, 4.5% would be around $2 billion - which is more than the "several hundred million" estimate of Provost Brown. 

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To hear the text above, click on link below:

https://ia601402.us.archive.org/25/items/big-ten/settling%20in.mp3