The original version of this article contained an error and information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
Graduate student union workers across the University of California reached a tentative agreement on the issue of gender-neutral bathrooms and lactation rooms on campus during contract negotiations with the University earlier this
month.
On April 15 and 16, the UC Student-Workers Union Local 2865, which represents more than 13,000 UC teaching assistants, tutors and other graduate student workers, and the UC agreed on contract language that formally recognizes students’ right to access these facilities.
Under the tentative agreement, an academic student employee or the union will notify the University if an employee needs special access, and the UC will address the complaints on a case-by-case basis, said Shelly Meron, UC spokeswoman.
“We are basically making adjustments to ensure that everyone in our community has access to what they need,” Meron said.
The agreement does not necessarily mean building new facilities, but making arrangements to accommodate those who require these facilities, Meron said. For example, the University may change the location of a class to somewhere close to a gender-neutral bathroom to accommodate a student worker.
The contract also establishes a joint committee with the union and the University to meet twice a year and discuss gender-neutral restrooms and related issues. The UC also has a system-wide task force that is expected to release recommendations later this year to make the University a more inclusive environment for the LGBT community, Meron said.
“It is tremendously important that people who are working at the UC are respected,” said Josh Brahinsky, an anthropology and history of consciousness graduate student at UC Santa Cruz and recording secretary of the Santa Cruz union office.
Gender-neutral bathrooms are part of a safe and welcoming school environment, especially for those who are transgender, queer or disabled, said Sara Smith, a graduate student from UC Santa Cruz who is on the union’s Anti-Oppression Committee. For student parents, lactation rooms would allow mothers to feed their babies at work.
“Imagine having to fear every time you walk into a bathroom because you could face harassment by some people who think you’re not welcome,” said Smith.
This agreement marks a first for the union in accomplishing anti-discriminatory articles through collective bargaining, Brahinsky said.
“In addition to traditional union issues such as wages and employment, we believe the union should also work toward broader political change,” Smith said. “We see it as a model of social justice unionism.”
There are currently 67 gender-neutral bathrooms and two lactation rooms on campus, said UCLA spokeswoman Rebecca Kendall.
The UCLA Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Campus Resource Center is working with UCLA Facilities Management to convert more than 200 additional single-stall bathrooms into gender-inclusive ones by 2016, said Raja Bhattar, director of the UCLA Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Campus Resource Center. This would involve creating unified signage to make gender-inclusive bathrooms easily identifiable, Bhattar said.
“UCLA has always been a leader in this area, but it’s always nice to have more affirmation from different groups in the community on an issue that UCLA has been committed to for years,” Bhattar said.
The tentative agreement, however, still needs to be ratified because outstanding contract issues remain unresolved between the union and the UC, including the union’s demands for smaller class sizes and teaching opportunities for undocumented graduate students. The latest bargaining session took place on Monday.
Correction: Under the terms of the new agreement, an academic student employee or the union will notify the University if an employee needs special access. The joint committee formed by the union and the UC will discuss gender-neutral bathrooms and related topics.