Service workers in the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees plan to go on strike today because of their
frustrations with contract negotiations between them and the
University of California.
The strike is scheduled to only last today, and workers are
expected to return to work Friday.
At UCLA, there are approximately 2,000 AFSCME service workers,
of which 1,200 to 1,400 are scheduled to work today and could
decide to strike, said Nicole Moore, an AFSCME organizer for Local
3299.
AFSCME members work in the residential dining halls and housing
services, and the Associated Students of UCLA campus
restaurants.
Workers in the UCLA Medical Center also intend to strike, which
includes the security guards, custodians and cafeteria staff.
“The most important thing is that this is a one-day
strike. It is part of a much bigger campaign to make sure that
there is justice for workers and students on the UCLA campus and
across the state,” Moore said.
Management at UCLA made plans to ensure that the campus will not
be affected by the strike.
“We do plan to continue to maintain our essential
operations in areas that require support,” said Lubbe Levin,
the assistant vice chancellor for campus human resources.
The student residential halls and dining halls will be run as
usual, Levin said.
“We have to and want to fulfill our obligations to the
students in those areas,” Levin said.
Managers, supervisors and contract workers will be brought in to
perform tasks as necessary in dormatory dining halls and ASUCLA
eateries, said Phil Hampton, a spokesman for UCLA.
Contract workers that work for employment agencies that provide
workers on a temporary basis are planned to be brought in today,
Hampton said.
Restaurants in Ackerman Union that are privately owned ““
such as Panda Express and Rubio’s ““ will also be open
today. Not all of these restaurants’ workers are members of
AFSCME.
It is up to each of those eateries to determine appropriate
staffing levels, Hampton said.
UCLA management believes that these preparations will ensure
that all ASUCLA businesses remain open.
About 7,300 AFSCME members at the nine UC campuses, five medical
centers and the Lawrence Berkeley Lab are all organizing together
“to make UC a better place to live, study and work, and to
protest UC’s refusal to bargain in good faith,”
according to an AFSCME press release.
The UC and AFSCME have been negotiating a new contract since
July 2004, and they are now waiting for a neutral member of the
fact-finding committee to submit a recommendation to both
sides.
Once a recommendation has been submitted, both sides must
negotiate their terms before they agree to a contract.
There is no set date when this will happen, and AFSCME is
striking to protest the bargaining process that has lasted for the
past nine months.
Because the bargaining process has not ended, the UC has called
the strike “presumptively illegal,” citing rulings of
the Public Employment Relations Board, according to a UC press
release.
“Our opinion is that it is an unlawful and unprotected
strike,” said Noel Van Nyhuis, a spokesman for the UC Office
of the President.
“We have always approached the negotiations process with
the goal of coming to a fair agreement for our service
workers,” Van Nyhuis said. “Records show that we have
bargained in good faith and that is what we will continue to do,
strike or no strike.”
Because the UC does not support the strike, workers scheduled
for today were told that if they do not report to work, they will
not be paid, and those who call in sick must present a
doctor’s slip upon return for verification, Levin said.
Workers that choose to participate in the strike are holding
picket lines during their scheduled shifts, which will run from 4
a.m. until midnight, Moore said.
AFSCME has also planned other events for today, for both workers
and members of the UCLA community.
There will be a rally at 3 p.m. in Bruin Plaza, where California
Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, is expected
to speak, Moore said.
There is also a planned candlelight vigil in De Neve Plaza at 8
p.m., Moore said.
The Student Worker Front is supporting AFSCME’s
strike.
“We’re going to be joining the picket lines and
asking students not to cross the picket lines,” said Gustavo
de Haro, a fourth-year psychology student and member of SWF.
“Our hope is that enough students and workers will be able
to stay throughout the whole period to inform people and students
about what is going on,” de Haro said.
SWF plans to picket in front of the dorm dining halls, Ackerman
and facilities that workers clean.