vogon

the evil "Website Boy"

member of @staff, lapsed linguist and drummer, electronics hobbyist

zip's bf

no supervisor but ludd means the threads any good


twitter (inactive)
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bluesky
if bluesky has a million haters I am one of them, if bluesky has one hater that's me, if bluesky has no haters then I am no more on the earth (more details: https://cohost.org/vogon/post/1845751-bonus-pure-speculati)
irl
seattle, WA

jerkas
@jerkas

photo of academic workers at a rally ready to strike

Hi everyone, good afternoon in America and hello to all chosters. I'd like to let you know about something serious, if you don't mind.

Tomorrow, graduate student teachers and researchers, along with postdoc researchers and other academic research staff, are going to strike at all 10 campuses across the University of California. My understanding is that this will probably the largest academic labor strike in American history. All bargaining units are fighting for a variety of improvements to our work environment, not least of which is a cost-of-living adjustment so that we are not rent burdened. We have also been stonewalled and jerked around by the university, which has resulted in quite a number of violations of fair bargaining, hence the strike. You can find more information here: https://www.fairucnow.org/

There are a number of things that you can do to support us, if you wish to (and we would really appreciate it)! I'll share some now:


  1. This one's easy: there is a petition that you can sign to UC President Drake to stop the university's unfair bargaining practices and meet our demands. You can find that here: https://act.aflcio.org/petitions/show-your-support-for-academic-workers-at-university-of-california

  2. If you have the means, you can donate to the UAW-UC Strike Support and Hardship fund. This one is a little complicated so I feel I should be transparent: striking workers are eligible for strike pay from UAW and those funds are paid from union dues. I don't want anyone to feel that their money here is going directly to striking workers in the general case. However, it may supplement the income of those workers who are hit exceptionally hard by loss of wages in the event that the university decides to withhold them. It can also be used for picket line essentials like food and water. You can find that here: https://givebutter.com/uc-uaw

  3. This is more open-ended and for the creative and/or connected. It is likely that this strike will be fairly well covered, but any way that you can raise awareness would be amazing. That would especially include any way that may lead to coverage in the news online, on television, locally or nationwide, or any kind of social media traction. If you know someone, if you are a journalist, if there's a labor friendly politician you can "at"...I have no links or suggestions here...just throwing it out there!

  4. There may be some disruptive actions possible, for example: spamming email accounts or websites set up by various UC campuses to try to determine which classes, sections, or labs have striking members. More info on that may be provided later...you are of course encouraged to never break the law. @:>)

Striking is a scary and brave thing to do and I'm very encouraged by all of my peers across the state. A win for us would be a win for academic workers everywhere, as academic unions are increasingly relevant and needed, and popping up everywhere! I'm in no way acting in any official capacity but I would be happy to try to help answer questions or redirect inquiries if necessary. Thank you for yr time and I appreciate you.


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