[Updated: Fri., May 17, 2024, 2:22pm]
It has been more than two weeks since the first tents of UC Santa Barbara’s student-organized “Liberated Zone” were constructed on UCSB’s campus , just adjacent to Davidson Library and North Hall. In the early morning hours of May 1, just after 4 a.m., organizers erected a few tents, banners, and posters in solidarity with Gaza and protesting against UCSB’s investments in the military-defense industry.
In the wake of protests taking place at public universities across the state, UC academic workers represented by the United Auto Workers Union 4811 (UAW) have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a “Stand Up Strike if circumstances justify.” According to the press release from UAW 4811 on May 15, “egregious unfair labor practices committed at UCLA on April 30 and May 1” were the catalyst behind the strike-authorization vote. The union, which represents 48,000 academic workers, including teaching assistants (TAs) and graduate students, stated that in a “stand up strike” not all members are required to strike simultaneously across the UC system’s 11 campuses — in fact, UAW 4811’s executive has the power to decide “if and when certain campuses are called, and will announce them on a rolling basis.”