Group of UCLA workers to walk off job over Gaza war protest response

UCLA academic workers plan to walk off the job Tuesday as part of a rolling strike over the University of California's response to campus protests.

The strike at UCLA is part of a wave of rolling strikes by unionized academic workers, such as teaching assistants, readers, tutors, student researchers and academic researchers. Striking workers claim the UC system mishandled its response to campus protests over the war in Gaza.

Those protests included an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the Westwood campus that was cleared out days after a violent clash involving counter-protesters. The overnight police operation ended in about 200 arrests.

Workers represented by United Auto Workers Local 4811 have already been striking at UC Santa Cruz in what the union called the first wave of planned walkouts. According to the union, the second round of strikes will begin Tuesday at UCLA and UC Davis.

The strike is in response to what the unionized workers called egregious unfair labor practices, including "summoning militarized police officers from numerous outside law enforcement to violently eject and arrest peaceful protesters."

The UC system has blasted the union's allegations and filed unfair labor practice complaints of its own, saying the union's labor contract has a no-strike provision and that the union's demands are outside the scope of union labor issues. In a statement released before the union's strike-authorization vote, officials at the University of California Office of the President said, "UC believes that the vote currently being conducted by UAW leadership sets a dangerous precedent that would introduce non-labor issues into labor agreements. If a strike is allowed for political and social disputes, the associated work stoppages would significantly impact UC's ability to deliver on its promises to its students, community and the State of California."

UAW Local 4811 is asking the UC schools to give amnesty to all academic employees and students who face arrest or disciplinary actions for protesting. The union wants the students to have guarantees of freedom of speech and political expression on campus and is asking for researchers to be able to opt out of funding sources tied to the Israeli Defense Force.

Sporadic disruptions continued following the dismantling of the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA. On May 6, about 40 people were arrested during protests on the campus over the war in Gaza.

Last week, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block was one of three college presidents and chancellors who testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee about the demonstrations and allegations of antisemitism on campuses. Block said the school should have been prepared to immediately remove the original encampment.

Block, who is set to retire at the end of July, testified two days after it was reported that the university's police chief was removed from his job and reassigned. Chief John Thomas faced criticism over his handling of the demonstrations that included an attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment.

Block announced that a former Sacramento police chief would lead a new Office of Campus Safety that will oversee the UCLA Police Department.

Israel faces global criticism over the mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than 900,000 Palestinians have been displaced by fighting in the past few weeks alone, and now lack shelter, food, water and other essentials, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Wednesday.

At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.