UC service workers strike
A long-threatened strike by University of California
service workers became a reality July 14 as some 8,500 employees set up picket
lines.
The workers – hospital cleaners and disinfectors,
cafeteria employees and security personnel – were joined by some hospital
nurses and other professionals who chose not to cross their picket lines.
The strike was called in protest over what the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees calls “poverty wages.” The
union mustered a vote of 97.5 percent in May to authorize the strike.
The University’s ten campuses and five hospitals are
affected by the strike, but University officials insisted that the strike so
far has caused only “minimal impact.”
The strikers are protesting wages as low as $10 an hour,
at a time when food and gasoline prices have risen dramatically.
The striking employees are demanding that wages be brought
in line with employees of state community colleges. Many service workers depend
on public assistance to help feed and house their families, according to an
AFSCME statement. Also, according to the statement, UC workers are making as
much as 25 percent less than comparable employees at state colleges.
The union says many service employees have to augment low
pay with taxpayer-funded food stamps, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants, and Children coupons, public housing subsidies and
subsidized child care.
“UC executives don’t pay service workers enough to
survive, but expect taxpayers to pick up the tab in the form of public
assistance,” said Lakesha Harrison, a UC licensed
vocational nurse and president of AFSCME Local 3299.
“We expect that from Wal-Mart, not from the University of
California, a public institution. That’s double dipping,” she said.
The strike was called for five days, starting July 14.
University spokespersons say that UC hospitals have not
had to cancel any scheduled surgeries, and emergency rooms remain open.