University of California (UC) leaders said the demands of the 48,000 researchers and student employees who launched a strike across all 10 UC campuses earlier this week could cost the university up to several hundred million dollars per year.
United Auto Workers had been in negotiations with UC leaders for months over four academic units: postdoctoral scholars, academic researchers, graduate student researchers, and academic student employees—including teaching assistants, readers, and tutors, according to UC President’s Office spokesperson in a previous interview.
The union’s goal is to more than double these academic employees’ base salary from $24,000 to $54,000 a year—with an annual salary of $70,000 for postdoctoral students—in light of the increased cost of living and housing in California….