UPTE and UC come to agreement, AFSCME and CNA still to strike next week
The University of California and the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119 came to a contract agreement on Nov. 8. The two parties had been negotiating for 17 months and mediating for three weeks, according to a press release.
“This outcome was the result of constructive dialogue and a shared commitment to finding common ground while maintaining financial responsibility in uncertain times,” the release read.
University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) represents over 20,000 healthcare practitioners, research staff and others within the UC. According to UPTE’s press release, the agreement offers “significant” pay increases over four years, caps on healthcare premium increases, as well as better work-life balance, career progression and job security.
The union was set to partake in what could’ve been the largest strike in UC history from Nov. 17-18, alongside two unions striking in solidarity: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 3299 and the California Nurses Association. Both unions are still set to strike as of this article’s publication.
UCSD renames Black Alumni Scholarship Fund, now open to all
UC San Diego and the San Diego Foundation renamed its Black Alumni Scholarship Fund to the Goins Alumni Scholarship Fund in October, the UCSD Guardian reported on Nov. 3.
The San Diego Foundation (SDF) funded the scholarship, which was named after Lennon Goins, a Black UCSD alum who went on to open his own dental practice and was a proponent of the scholarship fund before his death in 2017.
The scholarship was previously only open to incoming Black students at UCSD, whether they were freshmen or transfer students. It is now open to all incoming students who apply. This decision was made after a lawsuit was filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation, representing two plaintiffs: the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation and UCSD student Kai Peters, who was previously ineligible for the scholarship.
The lawsuit accused the UC Board of Regents, UCSD administration and the SDF of “circumvent[ing] constitutional requirements by outsourcing racial discrimination to a supposedly private entity.”
CA Supreme Court reaffirms UC should reconsider policy against hiring undocumented students
The California Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the UC must reconsider its policy against hiring undocumented students on Oct. 29.
UC Los Angeles alum Jeffry Umaña Muñoz and former lecturer Iliana Perez first filed the lawsuit in October 2024, alleging that the UC violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. According to the act, employers cannot discriminate against various factors, including immigration status. The lawsuit came after a years-long Opportunity for All campaign that began in 2022.
In August, a panel of California judges ruled that the UC must reconsider its policy barring universities from hiring undocumented students. According to the Daily Bruin, the UC Board of Regents appealed the ruling later that month, but the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal, thus maintaining the previous ruling. The August ruling states the UC’s hiring policy “facially discriminates based on immigration status.”
The UC must once again reconsider its hiring policy. According to a statement emailed to the Daily Bruin by UC Office of the President spokesperson Rachel Zaentz, the University is currently “assessing its options.” The UC holds that its policy does not discriminate based on immigration status and instead complies with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which makes it illegal for employers to hire undocumented people.
UCLA is currently facing increased oversight from the federal administration as part of the Trump administration’s proposed settlement regarding the University’s alleged civil rights violations.
Clash erupts at UC Berkeley TPUSA event, DOJ to investigate
Four people were arrested at a protest outside a Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley on Nov. 10. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted on X the following morning, claiming the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice would investigate the incident.
“[Attorney General Pam Bondi] is initiating a full investigation into the potential failures at UC Berkeley and any who enabled such violence,” the post read.
According to The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley administrators have not received any formal inquiries from the Department of Justice (DOJ) as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We are not aware of any DOJ investigation,” campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof told The Daily Californian. “What we are aware of is that over 1,000 people attended the event that was successful and proceeded without disruption. And we are aware of two violent incidents, though it is not clear if both were connected with the event.”
Staff members of The Daily Californian witnessed “at least five individuals detained by law enforcement” and said the majority of protestors, amounting to roughly 300, were “non-violent.”
The DOJ is investigating the UC system and Berkeley for other incidents, including its use of diversity, equity and inclusion within its admissions and alleged antisemitism within the UC, according to The Daily Californian.
A version of this article appeared on p. 2 of the Nov. 13 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
