UC Santa Barbara lecturers affiliated with the University Council-American Federation of Teachers Local 1474 union marked the start of a new bargaining contract with the UC administration on Feb. 19.

UC-AFT represents approximately 7,000 lecturers across the UC and advocates for the recognition of lecturers’ professionalism and academic contributions. Noura Elkhatib / Daily Nexus

The University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) is a group that represents approximately 7,000 teaching members across the UC who constitute between 30%-40% of credit hours at the UC. One thing that the UC-AFT union fights for is recognition for lecturers’ professionalism and academic contributions. Recent budget cuts have incited the creations of new contracts across UC campuses.

The UC-AFT UCSB chapter website states that it represents around 350 lecturers, librarians and supervisors of teacher education at UCSB.

At around 12:00 p.m., union members gathered in front of the library, holding up banners that read “We Teach UC.” 

“We carry a lot of weight that is not paid or recognized. As our job is getting more precarious, and we are being asked to do more than what we can do, obviously, this is reflecting in our teaching performance to students,” Emiko Saldivar, a continuing anthropology lecturer and collective officer of the local chapter of UC-AFT, said. “We are fighting for public education, and that is very important for students to know.”

As emcee of the rally, Saldivar began by discussing the cost of education. According to the Office of the Registrar, the average UCSB undergraduate student will pay $20,876 in total student fees and tuition for the 2025 academic year. The cost of attendance for residents of California who live in the residence halls is $47,418.

“As a demand of all the money and resources that students bring, they deserve good quality in education,” Saldivar said.

Nicholas Jurkowski, a continuing lecturer in the music department, shared that the union demands increased job security, support for the cost of living and the same levels of academic freedom as faculty. He expressed concerns about the current political climate affecting the academic space for lecturers and students.

“Very often, lecturers are considered to be contingent labor and are churned out before they reach continuing status,” Jurkowski said. “Especially for non-continuing lecturers, our protections are much lesser than latter faculty. It could potentially be detrimental to our employment prospects.”

Saldivar said there is a lack of recognition by the University for the labor that non-faculty take on for students. 

“We are one-third of the teachers that you will have, but some of us teach 50% of the students,” Saldivar said.

Saldivar also noted that budget cuts are a major factor currently affecting the job security of lecturers. California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed an 8% reduction in the UC’s General Fund allocation, which would result in a $397 million cut for the 2025-26 school year. After lobbying, Newsom amended his budget to include 3% cuts, only to increase it to 7% in January of 2026. This leaves many lecturers and teachers within the UC uncertain for the future of how the budget will look.

This uncertainty is coupled with effects of the cuts already showing. According to the UC-AFT website, nearly 100 lecturers across the UC have seen their appointments reduced or eliminated, with many more bracing for further cuts.

Saldivar noted that students are not necessarily aware of the differences between lecturers, teachers and faculty. She encouraged students attending the event to inquire about the status of the people who are teaching them.

Toward the end of the event, UC-AFT members led the crowd of lecturers and supporting students in a march toward Cheadle Hall, a University administration building where the chancellor’s office is. At the chancellor’s door, they presented their petition, inviting UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis to meet with them to negotiate.

Nikola Lapackova, the executive assistant to the chancellor, informed the crowd that Chancellor Assanis was in a meeting and would be unable to talk. 

A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the Feb. 26, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.