Direct action has long been a staple of labor activism, but University of California officials were less than appreciative when scores of demonstrating UC San Diego graduate students intervened in a long-planned and well-funded awards celebration last spring.
By June, university officials said about 60 students were facing punishment, up to and including expulsion, for their roles in interrupting the alumni awards ceremony and allegedly bumping Chancellor Pradeep Khosla and taking away his microphone.
This week, the university and leaders of the union representing graduate student workers reached an agreement to close the investigation and prevent the protestors from being significantly disciplined.
In a joint statement Tuesday, the University of California and United Auto Workers Local 2865 said the two sides recognize the students’ right to protest and the school’s obligation to enforce reasonable rules and standards.
“After months of negotiations, the UAW agreed to accept the accountability proposed by the university for the vandalism at the Marine Conservation and Technology Facility and disruption of the alumni awards celebration at UC San Diego,” the announcement said.
“As long as the terms of the agreement are met, the university will not pursue further action against the individuals involved in either matter,” it added.
Neither the University of California nor the United Auto Workers Local 2865 detailed or released the agreement itself. But the union issued a statement Wednesday saying that “all felony and misconduct charges are dropped” against its members.
“This is a major victory for academic workers at UC, and the culmination of a determined campaign that drew widespread support from legislators, other California unions and the public at large,” the UAW said.
The dispute between the university and union members dates back to last year, when graduate students staged a weeks-long strike over wages and working conditions.
The strike resulted in a new contract, but within months, the union members complained that UC officials were not meeting the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
In May, dozens of students disrupted the ceremony, going onto the stage during the event to criticize administrators. Later, university police arrested at least three people for alleged vandalism after they were accused of writing messages in chalk on school property.
The university’s response drew sharp criticism from students, faculty and others, who complained that the protest was protected under the First Amendment.
The joint statement issued this week acknowledges that the union members are entitled to voice their concerns but also are required to behave peacefully and in accordance with university policies.
“UAW regrets events that transpired arising from the protests on May 29, 2023 and May 5, 2023 … that resulted in the disruption of a university event and alleged harm to the (Marine Conservation and Technology Facility) building,” it said.
Several of the students took to social media this week to cheer the university’s decision to withdraw charges.
Maya Gosztyla, a union organizer and doctoral candidate, on Tuesday posted a lengthy recapitulation of the events of earlier this year, saying that university officials had badly mishandled the situation from the outset.
“The protest came after months of UC blatantly violating the contracts they’d signed with our unions,” Gosztyla said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “We protested at a UCSD alumni event to show we won’t back down until our contracts are upheld.
“Clearly, UC didn’t like us telling donors about their rampant wage theft,” she wrote.
UAW member Alex Wenzel said he was grateful for the support he and his fellow union members received in the wake of the protests.
“We remain undeterred from (ensuring) that this contract is implemented and implemented correctly,” the bioinformatics Ph.D. candidate posted. “On that note, stay tuned.”