What the Regents Are Talking About Today

As we noted, there is a closed-door meeting today for the Regents. It is a remote meeting with Regents scattered all over the state and beyond:

400 Q St., Sacramento, CA
721 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA
500 J St., Sacramento, CA
5200 Lake Rd., BSP 187, Merced, CA
6629 Round Oak Rd., Penngrove, CA
433 S Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 
2100 Steiner St., San Francisco, CA
555 California St., San Francisco, CA
1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Pl, Room 362, San Francisco, CA
12011 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
4751 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
78802 Kramer Dr., Palm Desert, CA
106 E Babcock St., Bozeman, MT
315 Fourth Ave. N, Nashville, TN
266 Avenida Unión, 44150  Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Khối Hà My Đông B, Điện Bàn, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/june42024.html.

While we have no way of listening in, you can be sure the most recent PERB refusal to resolve the student-worker strike in UC's favor, or in any way, is part of the agenda de jour. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A state labor relations board declined on Monday to halt the growing strike by graduate student workers at many University of California campuses related to pro-Palestinian protests, all but ensuring the disruptions will continue through the end of the school year. The Public Employment Relations Board found that the university, which has argued the strike is unlawful, had not met the legal grounds necessary to halt the strike. It was the second time it had declined the university’s motion to end the walkout...

The university system argued that the strike is resulting in significant disruptions on campus that were harming students, faculty and staff. It has also argued that UAW members or those operating for the UAW have engaged in “unlawful and dangerous activities” such as striking a police officer with a UAW sign, occupying an academic building at UCLA and blocking roadways...

“We are disappointed that the state agency dedicated to the oversight of public employment could not take decisive and immediate action to end this unlawful strike — a decision that harms UC’s students who are nearing the end of their academic year,” Melissa Matella, an associate vice president at the university, said in a statement. The UC said it will file a breach of contract action against UAW in state court as a next step...

Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/california-labor-board-declines-intervene-uc-19493210.php.

It is important to understand that PERB, although it can be described as above as an agency with "oversight of public employment," is not really a dispute-settling entity. It is more of a legal-finding agency. It is thus slow moving. It may at some point make a finding that the strike is either legal or illegal. But not necessarily soon. And there are layers of decisions and appeals. A breach of contract suit is also likely to be a slow-moving affair which also depends on someone finding that the strike is illegal and violates the no-strike clauses in the various union-management agreements. In theory, if UC were to get such a finding, it could claim monetary damages from the union.

Right now, there isn't much common ground available for a settlement. From UC's perspective, the union is asking for things beyond the scope of bargaining and in violation of an agreement. It's hard to split the difference between that view and the union's position. A hypothetical mediator would not have much to work with. UC seems to have some internal "bargaining" to do as well, since some chancellors negotiated deals to end encampments by suggesting they would be looking into doing things the Regents seem to say is contrary to policy.