UCLA academics on strike against mishandling of pro-Palestine students
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The protesters are calling for amnesty for grad students and other academics arrested or facing discipline for partaking in the pro-Palestine encampment earlier this month.
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UCLA workers, students, and supporters get lunch after a rally at Royce Quad in the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA campus Tuesday, May 28, 2024 (AP)
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) witnessed another flare-up on campus as academic workers staged a strike to protest the university's response to the Gaza encampment earlier this month.
Unionized academic researchers, graduate teaching assistants, and post-doctoral scholars walked out for what they called unfair labor practices in the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks.
Academic workers at two other University of California campuses – UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz where the protest strike began on May 20 – joined their colleagues at the UCLA protest.
The protesters are calling for amnesty for grad students and other academics arrested or facing discipline for partaking in protests, which union leaders assured were peaceful until counter-protesters and other instigators were allowed to provoke violence.
After hurling insults at him, a Zionist mob brutally beat up a pro-#Palestine protester at #UCLA amid fierce clashes at the campus.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 1, 2024
Unlike New York, where the NYPD headed to #ColumbiaUniversity to disband the encampment in huge numbers, the #LAPD's response was very late,… pic.twitter.com/53Nb7jVkuQ
Organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW), union local 4811 represents around 48,000 non-tenured academic employees across 10 University of California campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
However, the UAW local entails about 6,400 academic workers at UCLA, 5,700 at Davis, and about 2,000 at Santa Cruz. A union rep noted that thousands were withholding their work, while hundreds attended a march and rally on the UCLA campus on Tuesday.
Read next: University students on hunger strike in Sciences Po, protests continue
This marks the first union-backed protest, which follows the state public employee relations board ordering UCLA and strikers to engage in mediated talks.
Union leaders revealed that a major motive for the strike was the arrest of 210 people at the Palestinian solidarity protest camp taken down by police on May 2. A day earlier, individuals armed with sticks and clubs attacked the encampment and protesters which resulted in numerous injuries.
60 pro-"Israel" demonstrators tried barging into the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, starting a fight after they threw fireworks at the encampment. They waved Israeli flags, spoke through megaphones, played music, and held up images of the Israeli captives.
On Tuesday in Detroit, Wayne State University halted in-person classes and ordered staff to work remotely to avoid disruptions as a pro-Palestine encampment is taking place on its campus. US Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib joined those protests.
