UCLA workers and students marched through campus Thursday to
present Chancellor Carnesale with a petition signed by disgruntled
employees seeking an end to sub-contracted labor and unnecessary
layoffs.
According to a lead organizer from the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, an estimated 250
demonstrators gathered at the Neuropsychiatric Institute in the
UCLA Medical School. They proceeded up Bruin Walk chanting
“What do we want? Justice! Respect!” on their way to
Murphy Hall. There, university employees voiced their concerns
about UCLA’s treatment of its workers.
Administrative officials accepted the petition and thanked the
demonstrators for creating a dialogue regarding the issues.
“Chancellor Carnesale has always supported the
workers’ right to organize,” said Mark Speare, a
university health care administrator and spokesperson for
Carnesale.
One demonstrator, Faustino Bautista, a janitor in Ackerman
Union, said he has worked at UCLA for three years but still makes
only $7 an hour. This low wage has made supporting his pregnant
wife and 4-year-old daughter extremely difficult, he said.
Bautista, a subcontracted worker, does not receive any of the
benefits regular UCLA employees enjoy, as he is technically an
employee of Metro, an independent company.
Metro and several other contracting companies provide UCLA with
approximately 150 low-wage workers, according to AFSCME
organizers.
“The university needs to be held accountable for the
workers that do our work,” said Victoria Preciado, a
third-year English and Spanish student and member of the Student
Worker Front, a student group that advocates student and worker
allegiance.
Union workers also attended the demonstration to protest
intended layoffs at several UCLA medical facilities.
AFSCME organizers said due to recent state budget cuts, UCLA has
considered laying off 475 nurse assistants and other low-wage
workers.
Demonstrators presented alternative solutions to the budget
crisis, including a reduction in the number of management jobs and
a decrease in executive salaries.
Rodney Barnette, a labor representative from the California
Nurses Association cited the deterioration of patient care as a
grave implication of the intended layoffs.
After a brief rally in front of Murphy Hall, the demonstrators
presented Vice Chancellor Antoinette Mongelli with a list of 10
measures entitled “Let’s make UCLA a good place to
work.”
Among the desired resolutions was an end to subcontracted labor,
the creation of early retirement benefits for released workers, and
a plea to make layoffs the absolute last resort to financial
difficulties.