University of California San Diego

Summary

In the winter of 2022, nearly 50,000 academic workers across the University of California system went on strike, the largest higher education strike in U.S. history.   In December of 2022, the UC System and the academic workers ratified a collective bargaining agreement in which workers won substantial wage increases, unprecedented new protections against workplace bullying, and immigrant worker protections.  However, as of July 2023, workers at UC San Diego argued the university had not implemented aspects of their contract like establishing an office to process complaints of workplace misconduct or hiring workers at 50 percent of full-time employment, which is the standard appointment for graduate student researchers. Workers also said that there have been dramatic reductions in teaching assistant appointments in certain departments and that two dozen students received unsatisfactory grades for participating in the strike.

On May 5 2023, as Chancellor Pradeep Khosla began his opening remarks at the 44th University of California, San Diego Alumni Awards at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, some 60 academic worker activists took the stage carrying a cardboard sign. They were there to present him with UC’s “Most Overpaid Worker” award; Khosla had received a $500,000 raise while, the union says, the university was simultaneously refusing to fully implement their recently ratified collective bargaining agreement.

Khosla quickly left the stage amid chants of “Pradeep, Pradeep, the rent is too steep!” When the police arrived, the graduate students had relocated outdoors to the sidewalk where, separated by a glass wall, they continued chanting their demands: “What do we want? Our promised wages. When do we want them? Now!”

While the action ended peacefully, just over a month later, the university charged 59 graduate student workers from the event’s registration list with “physical assault,” “physical abuse and threats to health and safety,” and “disruption of university activities.” Almost half of the people accused deny even being in attendance.

The university claimed workers “bumped” Khosla and stole the microphone. The union disputed the allegations and pointed to a livestream of the action by a member, which, though blurry, did not appear show evidence of either charge. The students faced disciplinary hearings for the union action, which could have resulted in probation or even expulsion from the university.

It was the latest provocation by the university in what workers said was an escalating retaliation campaign against them since ratifying a collective bargaining agreement late last year. The university  brought multiple sets of misconduct charges against students and workers following three separate union-led protests.

In November, 2023, the university and leaders of the union representing graduate student workers reached an agreement to close the investigation and prevent the protestors from being significantly disciplined.