A degree of change for UC workers

Jay Li

Imran Shaikh

Community News & Feature World Editor

As a Trust and Safety Project Manager at Meta, Chris Odisho protects Meta’s platforms from fraud, harassment, offensive content and spam. He uses and expands on tools that protect users’ security during times of crisis. Odisho spends most of his day in meetings with multiple teams across the company to ensure that the projects in his portfolio are completed.

Odisho has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UC San Diego and a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Odisho explains that since his team focuses on citizens, government agencies and their affiliates, his background in political science adequately prepared him for his career in social media integrity.

Prior to joining Meta, Odisho was a consultant for Google and a project manager at a Smart City Startup, where he worked on various projects throughout San Francisco. Having experience in both the public and private sector has significantly contributed to Odisho’s career, especially since his current team works with government agencies and their associates.

“I have learned two important lessons throughout my career. The first is that you are your best advocate: You cannot be afraid to voice your own opinions. If you want to shape your own career, then you must stand up for it. Second, you can never give up. No matter what you do or how talented you are, you will sometimes fall short of your expectations, but these moments build your resilience. It took me three tries to get the job I have now; if I had given up then, I would not be where I am today,” Odisho said.

In his early career, Odisho worked in city government and met many famous politicians, including Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Jerry Brown and London Breed. Odisho’s favorite part of his job is working with such smart people. He has co-workers from all around the globe, so he collaborates with a diverse group of people every day. However, this is a double-edged sword, as he has to work around multiple time zones.

“Anyone who has an interest in social sciences, current events or humanities would love working in civic trust and safety. My advice to anyone pursuing this field, or any field really, would be to be open to new opportunities; even if they do not align with what you see for yourself at the moment, they may be what you need in the future,” Odisho said.

On Nov. 14, 2022, 48,000 UC graduate student researchers and faculty members collectively walked off their jobs and took to the streets, shouting and hoisting picket signs in a battle for increased wages, childcare subsidies, enhanced healthcare coverage and lower tuition for international students. The strike lasted until Dec. 23, 2022, becoming the biggest labor strike of the year and the largest higher-education strike in U.S. history. Represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union, the striking students and faculty ratified two two-and-a-halfyear contracts, formally ending the strike and significantly improving wages and working conditions.

Despite their historical ties to the automotive industry, UAW now consists of about 25% academic workers. Those participating in the strike were organized into three different UAW unions: SRU-UAW represented student researchers; UAW 2865 represented graduate tutors, teaching assistants and readers; and UAW 5810 represented postdoctoral and academic researchers.

According to UAW, the contracts will increase wages by 20% to 80% across the board, standardizing pay throughout campuses and raising starting salaries to nearly $35,000— from the previous base of $24,000 —by Oct. 1, 2024. Strikers say that the wage hikes will significantly offset rising costs of housing and healthcare. The contracts also enhance benefits for employees with children, add new protections against harassment and discrimination and provide new paid leaves. It is unclear how the UC system will afford these wage increases, however, as the UC Office of the President estimates that the raises will increase costs by more than $570 million while the contracts are in effect.

Reactions to the deal were mixed and many workers were left disappointed. Some were unhappy that the union gave up on demands to tie wage gains to housing costs: Surveys by UAW found that 92% of graduate workers and 61% of postdoctoral scholars are rentburdened, meaning that they spend

UAW negotiators originally requested housing stipends and a five-year housing guarantee for graduate students that would last until the UC built affordable homes for them, but were quickly struck down. Other demonstrators criticized the UC for only agreeing to subsidize $1,400 for child care per quarter, falling short of union leaders’ goal of $6,000 per quarter. Around 65% of the three UAW unions’ members backed the final agreements; however, 21 of the 40 UAW leaders voted against the contracts and led a campaign imploring others to do the same, pointing out that they should leverage their power by continuing the strike.

“In the department I teach in, there have been persistent funding deficits, making it difficult for students to enroll in courses and creating a high workload for teaching assistants. I participated in the strike to bring attention to the pressing nature of these issues. My department was granted a negotiation process for increasing staffing sizes for classes, and while I wish there was a concrete staff increase guarantee, negotiation rights are a great first step” UC Berkeley Senior Allison Li said.

However, the workers’ victory came with a significant pitfall: The UC is demanding that strikers repay the money they earned while on strike, citing state and federal guidelines that forbid universities from paying employees who do not work. UAW countered with an unfair labor practice charge against the UC on Jan. 26, claiming that the university system is violating state labor laws by docking pay without first consulting workers on how much money they plan

“The UC’s concessions were helpful, but there could always be more. For example, receiving only $2,000 per semester for childcare is insufficient, considering that the cost of raising a child can be over $1,000 per month.”

—Sophomore Zadela Valero

“For the UC graduate students living in cities like Berkeley or Los Angeles, the cost of living is quite expensive. If the UC offered housing to graduate students or provided stipends proportional to the cost of living in their area, it would largely alleviate the students’ financial burdens.”

Jeff Lutze, Math Department

“The concessions were most definitely an advancement when comparing the original working conditions to what they are now. However, there is always room for improvement, so the UC should continue to further improve working conditions.”

—Senior Maryam Tavern

Staff Writer

“Though I sympathize with the workers’ cause, it does not make sense for them to be paid for the time they were on strike because they earn their paycheck from the work they do. Moreover, the strike negatively impacted the student body,” Junior Kavya Desai said.

The strike stymied classes, lectures and grading just before midterms and final exams, as the UC relies heavily on graduate workers to teach and conduct research. Several professors canceled classes and final exams in solidarity with the strikers, and over 200 faculty members pledged to withhold final grades until the strike ended. Several students skipped classes altogether and joined the picket line in support of the strikers.

“Although the UC strikes had an adverse effect on classes, it was necessary in order to achieve livable wages. Without such drastic action, it is unlikely that the graduate students would have attracted the attention and leverage needed to achieve their new contracts,” Sophomore Ameya Kiwalkar said.

The UC strike has garnered attention nationwide due to its massive scale and effect on one of the most prestigious university systems in the U.S. Fueling the growing wildfire of unionization in universities across the nation, the strike’s ripples are being felt at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of New Jersey, where stipends for graduate research students are increasing at unprecedented levels. Many academic workers predict that the strike is a preview of things to come and expect a surge of union activity to address similar issues

Quotebox: What are your thoughts on the UC strike?

Compiled by Tammy Newman