From the LA Times: Graduate student workers are making an unusual request in their contract negotiations with the University of California: a legal fund to help them navigate visa issues. The ask from United Auto Workers Local 4811, which represents 48,000 teaching assistants, postdocs and researchers at UC, comes amid increased scrutiny of international students by the Trump administration, which has ramped up restrictions on immigrants and foreign visitors... They’ve been negotiating with the university for months over a new contract; the current one expires Jan. 31.*
...In addition to [a] $750,000 legal fund, they’re asking the university to continue paying researchers who are temporarily stranded outside the U.S. due to visa issues, and reimburse them for visa-related fees. The University of California also spends about $3 million per year on legal services for immigrant students through its Immigrant Legal Services Center...
Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-13/union-asks-uc-for-legal-aid-fund-for-international-graduate-students.
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*Note that if the expiration date passes before a new contract is reached, there won't necessarily be a strike. A strike decision would be the union's call at that point or later. According to the Daily Bruin, a strike vote will be taken Feb. 5-13 - which means no strike until at least the vote is tabulated. (Such votes typically result in strike authorization.) Even if a strike is authorized, however, one may or may not occur. See https://dailybruin.com/2026/01/12/unions-representing-40k-academic-research-uc-employees-announce-strike-vote.
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