University of California workers reach deal to end strike

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of California on Friday reached an agreement with about 36,000 graduate student teaching assistants and other academic staff for higher wages and benefits that could potentially end a month-long strike in the respected state system.

The strike disrupted classes on all 10 campuses in the university system and was the largest strike by academic staff in the country. The agreement has yet to be ratified before the strike officially ends.

The bargaining units said some workers could see pay rises of up to 66% over the next two years. The contracts would run until May 31, 2025.

The pay rises and performance increases could have ripple effects beyond California. For several decades, colleges and universities have increasingly relied on faculty and doctoral staff to conduct teaching and research previously undertaken by contract faculty—but without the same pay and benefits.

“These agreements will position our graduate student staff among the most well-supported in public higher education,” Michael V. Drake, president of the University of California, said in a news release Friday. “If approved, these contracts will recognize her important work and allow us to continue to attract the best academic talent from across California and around the world.”

The 32-day UC strike is being closely watched across the country, in part because it is the largest strike by academic staff in higher education, said William A. Herbert, executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College in New York.

The UC strike, like the others, “is an indication that strikes are very powerful tools to get things done,” he said.

The deal comes weeks after the UC system struck a similar deal with postdocs and academic researchers who make up about 12,000 of the 48,000 union members who walked out of work and picketed on Nov. 14. This agreement will increase wages by up to 29%. and are offering more family leave, childcare grants and extended appointments to ensure job security, according to a statement from United Auto Workers Local 5810.

The academics had argued they couldn’t afford to live at current salaries in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and Berkeley, where housing costs are skyrocketing.

The strike came at a time of increased industrial action across the country, not just in higher education but also among workers at Starbucks, Amazon and elsewhere, and a wave of union organizing efforts among student workers at other universities.

Just this year, graduates from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Clark University, Fordham University, New Mexico State University, Washington State University and Worchester Polytechnical Institute voted to organize.

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Watson reported from San Diego.

Julie Watson and Stefanie Dazio, The Associated Press