UPTE-CWA Plans for Strike During UCSB Finals Week
UPTE-CWA, a union representing 15,000 UC workers, is planning a labor rally beneath Storke Tower this coming Wednesday. KCSB’s Megan Stafford has more information on the UC system-wide strike:
Another labor strike is happening at UCSB, the University Professional Technical Employee-Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA), a union that represents 15,000 UC workers, is holding a demonstration in front of Storke Tower on Wednesday. The strike follows a period of stalled negotiations, which were intended to address UC’s practice of unequal pay, outsourcing jobs, and the further underrepresentation of people of color from the UC service and patient care workforce. The UPTE strike on Wednesday is expected to be UC system-wide, as large demonstrations are also planned at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Los Angeles with guest speaker Senator Bernie Sanders in attendance. Students, community activists, and representatives from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, the University of California’s largest employee union which represents 25,000 workers, are also expected to picket in solidarity with UPTE on Wednesday from 7 am to 5 pm.