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UAW 2865

UAW Local 2865 - 19,000 Student workers strong

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Political Engagement

Our political engagement committee is launching a statewide effort to coordinate our legislative work and we need your help. As a response to UCPath, we sponsored legislation to end UC’s wage theft exemptions from California’s wage and hour law. In 2019 this bill passed state senate.

We are hoping to next work to lobby and advance bills on issues of importance to our membership, such as a climate change legislation. As a first step, we conducted a survey of our membership and are using it to direct our next steps.

Elected leaders of UAW 2865 meet with Rep Katie Porter (D-CA), a professor at UC Irvine, after her 2018 election to the US House of Representatives.

UAW Academic Workers React to the Trump Administration’s New Xenophobic Visa Restrictions

June 23, 2020 By UAW2865

“This Executive Proclamation is part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to scapegoat non-US citizens,” said Anke Schennink, Ph.D., an international scholar who is also the President of UAW Local 5810.

In reaction to the Trump administration’s new Executive Proclamation that suspends crucial visa programs for international workers, UAW members, many of whom perform cutting-edge research at the nation’s most prestigious universities, including the University of California, the University of Washington, Columbia University, and others, are fighting back.

“This Executive Proclamation is part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to scapegoat non-US citizens,” said Anke Schennink, Ph.D., an international scholar who is also the President of UAW Local 5810, which represents more than 11,000 Postdocs and Academic Researchers at the University of California. “UAW Academic Workers form the backbone of America’s innovation enterprise, conducting cutting-edge research that includes developing new cures for cancer, modeling strategies for fighting climate change, and other projects that push society forward. Nearly half of us are international, and our work contributes billions in grants and economic stimulus to our local communities. Shutting down these programs will do nothing for the economy and could diminish the quality of  research in the US for years to come.”

The world’s leading research is produced in US labs and is frequently accomplished by international workers. Since 2000, nearly 40 percent of America’s Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics and medicine have been awarded to individuals who were not born here (Albert Einstein himself became a U.S. citizen in 1940). 

Schennink, along with UAW 2865 President Kavitha Iyengar, J.D., their members, and members of UAW 4121 and GWC-UAW 2110 sent the following in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, and Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia in May:

“…these workforces help our University secure over $6 billion in federal research grants, which in turn multiply our community’s growth in jobs and revenue. They also are key to instructing tens of thousands of undergraduate students. Removing these individuals from campuses or preventing them from entering the country would severely disrupt our strong collaborative working relationships that are vital to our ability to overcome the pandemic. Any policy that reverses or limits visas and related programs would undermine decades of collaborative work between the United States and our international partners in fields that contribute to health and economic security for all.”

“As international students and workers, we play a critical role in keeping U.S. universities running, provide the scholarship that drives innovation, and teach the next generation of leaders,” said Yash Amonkar, a Research Assistant at Columbia, and a member of GWC-UAW 2110. “These visa programs are absolutely necessary to the groundbreaking research we do. Together with our union siblings, we call on the Executive branch and on Congress to reverse the suspension of these programs.”

Kim Meier, an international scholar in Psychology at the University of Washington, agrees: “Counter to the claims made by the administration, the presence of non-immigrant visa holders in the workforce positively impacts the U.S. economy. A November 2019 report from the Congressional Research Service shows that international students routinely remain in the US after graduation, playing an instrumental role in our business, technology, resource, and healthcare sectors. A study by the National Foundation for American Policy recently found that the presence of workers on H-1B visas can reduce unemployment, increase worker pay, and stabilize employment opportunities for US citizens.”

UAW Academic Workers have a long record of civic and political engagement. They were instrumental in turning back the Grad Tax, securing an Optional Practical Training extension for international researchers in STEM fields, and the inclusion of Postdocs in the federal overtime regulations. They are also vocal critics of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, and Education Secretary DeVos’s misguided Title IX regulations. 

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Filed Under: Equity & Inclusion, Political Engagement, Visa Limitations

In the face of COVID-19, UAW Academic Workers Band Together to Lobby for Increased Funding, Protections

April 27, 2020 By UAW2865

Fair and stable conditions for research are more important than ever amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

A national coalition of UAW locals has banded together to call for an increase in federal funds for the universities that are on the frontlines of performing COVID-19 related research and response work. The locals represent more than 45,000 workers who perform cutting-edge research in labs at the nation’s most prestigious universities, including the University of California, the University of Washington, Columbia University, UCONN and others.

The coalition is delivering letters to members of Congress today, and will begin a series of direct actions this week. Accompanying letters from UAW International President Rory Gamble were also sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.  

Thousands of UAW Academic Workers are currently focused on researching COVID-19, potential treatments and the development of a vaccine. In addition, many are in the midst of groundbreaking cancer research, climate change modeling and other important work. Some also perform crucial teaching and administrative tasks that keep universities functioning. Without additional support from the federal government for research institutions and these individuals, critical contributions to science and learning will be lost. Universities may falter, undermining the economic support they provide to regions across the country and compounding the economic misery. Many frontline academic workers have international citizenship and/or fixed-term appointments, meaning that access to social safety net programs like unemployment insurance is not guaranteed. 

“We are asking the federal government to commit to three things,” said Kavitha Iyengar, President of UAW Local 2865, which represents more than 19,000 student workers across the UC system. “And with these three pillars of support in place, we can continue to keep our universities strong and responsive to the fight against COVID-19:

  1. Immediate financial support, including funding to allow continuity of critical research projects, for Universities to continue to employ all personnel until operations return to full speed.
  2. Support for international students and scholars to ensure that all may remain safely in place and continue to work and study in the future.
  3. Additional funding for financial aid so students can continue to have access to affordable instruction.”

“UAW Academic Workers are integral to the ability of universities to emerge from this crisis and continue to perform leading-edge research and instruction,” said David Parsons, President of UAW 4121, which represents Academic Student Employees and Postdocs at the University of Washington in Seattle. “We are asking the federal government to step up and support the workers and institutions that are leading the scientific charge against this virus and powering universities in this new reality.”

“Many UAW Academic Workers are on the frontlines of the response, studying the disease to understand transmission and treatment, organizing drives for PPE and childcare for essential workers, and supporting the transition to online instruction for students across the country,” said Anke Schennink, President of UAW Local 5810, which represents Postdoctoral Scholars and Academic Researchers across the University of California. “Additional investment here will make us safer and pay for itself many times over.”

“We are among those who are trained and able to process virus samples,” said Steven Cook, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia. “So we are volunteering to put our expertise to work. We have processed thousands of samples, providing additional capacity for research efforts and lessening the burden on the medical community. And we are asking the federal government to support us and other research intuitions so that we can continue to move forward.”

UAW Academic Workers have a long record of civic and political engagement. They were instrumental in turning back the Grad Tax, securing an Optional Practical Training extension for international researchers in STEM fields and the inclusion of Postdocs in the federal overtime regulations. They are also vocal critics of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. 

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Filed Under: Political Engagement

Take the UAW 2865 Political Survey

August 9, 2019 By UAW2865

UAW 2865 actively pushes legislation in Sacramento and in Washington D.C. that benefits Academic Student Employees, and as a public sector union, we know that it is critical for UAW 2865 to support candidates and ballot initiatives that will create better working conditions for us at the University of California. That’s why we are polling members on what issues matter most to you as an Academic Student Employee. Please take a minute to fill out the survey below and share your thoughts about what what a UC for All looks like and how we can make political progress at UC. If you are not already a member but would like to weigh-in on your priorities for legislative advocacy, join your union today!

Create your own user feedback survey

Filed Under: Political Engagement

UAW 2865 Endorses the Green New Deal to Protect Workers and Strengthen Labor

July 28, 2019 By UAW2865

IRVINE, CA—At their quarterly meeting Friday, the Joint Council of United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 2865 voted decisively to endorse H.R. 109, the Green New Deal resolution co-sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA).

By endorsing the Green New Deal, UAW 2865 joins a broad range of labor unions from many different sectors, including the Alameda, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego Labor Councils, the California Federation of Teachers, SEIU International, the Los Angeles Labor Federation, Railroad Workers United, American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, and the Oregon State Association of Letter Carriers.

“Our union is proud to join our sibling unions in calling for a response to the climate crisis that puts unionization efforts and plans for unionized workers at the fore. In order to win a Green New Deal, unions are standing together to fight the corporate takeover of our democracy, to protect workers in transition industries, and to revive unionization throughout the country,” said Kavitha Iyengar, UAW 2865 President.

“As graduate instructors and researchers, we understand the existential threat climate change poses to workers, their families, and the economy as a whole,” said Johnathan Guy, UC Berkeley graduate student and organizer with UAW 2865. “We also understand the vital role the University of California system, as the largest employer in one of the largest economies in the world, has to play in bringing about a just transition through a GND for UC, spearheading efforts such as worker retraining, fossil fuel divestment, building retrofitting, sustainable energy, new green construction, and increased workplace democracy.”

“We applaud existing efforts to push the GND to the top of the national political agenda. To this end, we endorse and commit to participating in the Global Climate Strike on September 20, 2019. Our local has also recently launched a survey of its more than 18,000 members about the urgency of climate crisis and identify how members want to participate in the union’s response, including by supporting legislation such as the Green New Deal. We look forward to joining all those who have a stake in a just transition to fight for a more fair, sustainable, and democratic world.”

Filed Under: Political Engagement

UAW Call On AFL-CIO To End Affiliation With IUPA

June 26, 2015 By UAW2865

We, UAW Local 2865, call on the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) to end their affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations. It is our position that this organization is inimical to both the interests of labor broadly, and Black workers in particular. Historically and contemporarily, police unions serve the interests of police forces as an arm of the state, and not the interests of police as laborers. We ask that the AFL-CIO recognize this history and take steps to serve the interests of its Black workers and community members.

Filed Under: Political Engagement

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