Worth Fighting For...Ending Poverty at UC

Don't believe there is poverty at the University of California? This film documents the conditions faced by service workers and their families, trying to make ends meet. See why UC service workers overwhelmingly made the decision to strike for a fair contract and listen to why Senator Yee supports these families.

Senator Yee to UC President: Don't Retaliate Against Workers
UC officials threaten disciplinary action for striking workers

SAN FRANCISCO - Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) today called on the University of California President Mark Yudof to stop threatening striking service workers with disciplinary action. In a letter sent to Yudof, Yee writes that he is “dismayed by the comments of Elizabeth Meyer and other UC spokespersons who have stated the administration will discipline striking workers to the ‘fullest extent.’”

“Service workers gave adequate notice of their strike and the law explicitly provides workers the right to strike for fair wages, working conditions, and basic equity,” said Yee. “If even one worker is retaliated against or disciplined for exercising their right to strike, I will do everything in my power to appropriately respond to the University.”

Yesterday, over 8,500 service workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299 began a five-day strike at ten UC campuses and five medical centers. These workers do everything from cleaning and disinfecting hospitals and dorm rooms, to providing cafeteria service for patients and students, to providing security throughout the UC system.

“It is unconscionable what the UC administration is doing to these workers and their families,” said Yee. “The wages of these workers are dramatically behind other hospitals and California’s community colleges, where workers average twenty-five percent more for the same work. UC hospitals made over $371 million in profits last year, yet they refuse to provide the workers a fair wage. While UC executives live high on the hog, workers, students, and patients are left in the cold.”

For service workers, wages are as low as $10 an hour, and 96 percent of UC service workers are income eligible for at least one of the following public assistance programs: food stamps, WIC (women, infants, and children), public housing subsidies, and reduced lunch. Many work two or three jobs to meet their families’ basic needs.

In contrast, UC executives have consistently received double digit pay increases on already exorbitant salaries. Recently, the UC Board of Regents approved over $800,000 for Yudof’s salary and perks. In addition, Regents have significantly increased student fees each year, making the state’s higher education system unaffordable for many students.

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