Over 10,000 student researchers across the University of California voted overwhelmingly on Nov. 19 to authorize a strike, should the UC continue to refuse to acknowledge their union, Student Researchers United-UAW.
On May 24, a supermajority of student researchers within the UC filed with California’s Public Employment Relations Board to form SRU-UAW, a union that now represents over 17,000 student researchers, according to a Nov. 22 email sent by SRU-UAW.
However, the UC has thus far refused to recognize the union as a bargaining unit, meaning student researchers are unable to enter into collective bargaining around key issues like workplace protections and working conditions, according to SRU-UAW’s website.