Judge halts order on NIH cuts to funds that support UC medical research
On Monday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s plans to slash federal payments from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research universities and institutions after 22 states, including California, filed a lawsuit a day earlier, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The University of California declared its support for the order on Feb. 10, saying such cuts would gut its federal funding by hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
“We are grateful for the judge’s order and the bipartisan chorus of policymakers for supporting efforts to continue this vital research that saves lives and improves health care for countless Americans,” the statement published Monday night read.
The NIH said on Friday it would cap a key source of funding called “indirect costs,” or facilities and administration costs, to 15%. This replaces the previous rate negotiated with NIH at some institutions, which for some is more than 60%.
These costs help pay for lab, faculty, infrastructure and utility costs.
The UC system — which includes 21 health professional sciences schools, five cancer centers and six academic medical centers — received $2 billion in NIH grants and funding in 2023. It was not immediately clear how much of that was in indirect cost payments.
“As the world’s leading public research institution, we depend on NIH funds to perform our vital mission,” UC President Michael V. Drake said in a statement earlier Monday before the restraining order was granted. “A cut this size is nothing short of catastrophic for countless Americans who depend on UC’s scientific advances to save lives and improve healthcare. This is not only an attack on science, but on America’s health writ large. We must stand up against this harmful, misguided action.”
The cuts are part of massive, immediate reductions across numerous agencies by the Trump administration.
UC professional and technical workers union begins strike authorization vote
University Professional and Technical Employees Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA) Local 9119 began their strike vote last week, acquiring more than 9,000 votes for their statewide strike.
UPTE-CWA 9119 represents 20,000 clinicians, researchers and technical support professionals across the UC.
Last month, the union filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge over new “speech-restrictive access rules” adopted by UC managers for employee and employee organizations at all UC campuses except UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara.
According to a 490-page complaint by the union, the rules include “key” changes to past practices: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory limiting sharing leaflets or pamphlets to three places and banning union staff and officers from attending rallies; UC Los Angeles barring campus gatherings by any union whose membership is mostly employees; UC Irvine demanding unions take down all their website postings every 30 days even if they are not related to time-limited events.
Many universities restricted the areas where employees can protest to a small portion of the campus and added requirements to obtain management permission to set up a small card table for union leaflets or canopy to cover leaflets, according to the charge.
The ULP cites violations of the Higher Education Employer-Employee (HEERA) Act, which employers must comply with regarding worker unions.
“If UC moves to further enforce any of these regulations against UPTE, preliminary injunctive relief will be requested, as the chilling effects on protected speech during contract negotiations are serious irreparable harms,” the complaint read.
UC launches AI website
The UC Artificial Intelligence Council announced the official launch of the UC AI website on Feb. 3.
The new website is designed to “support and enhance” the UC’s collective efforts in artificial intelligence, the UC Office of the President reported.
The website features up-to-date news and events related to AI, tools and resources including a new introductory AI learning course and risk-assessment guide and information on the university’s AI communities, including the UC AI Council and other systemwide groups.
A version of this article appeared on p. 2 of the Feb. 13, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
