A Southern California judge on Friday suspended a University of California faculty walkout over the treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters after the university argued the strike was causing “irreparable harm” to students.
The temporary restraining order, issued by Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall J. Sherman, comes as tens of thousands of UC students are preparing for final exams at the end of the spring semester. The judge's order comes in response to the public university system's third attempt to force thousands of unionized teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and other key workers back to work.
Workers represented by United Auto Workers Local 4811 began striking at UC Santa Cruz on May 20 before expanding the strike to the Davis, Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego and Santa Barbara campuses. The union represents about 48,000 graduate students and other academic workers across the University of California system, which includes 10 colleges and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Among other accusations, university officials argue that UC's response to protests over the Israel-Hamas war amounts to a unilateral change of free speech policy and creates an unsafe work environment.
The university argues that the strike is not about working conditions but an attempt to force UC institutions to take a position on political issues. The university has twice asked the state Public Employment Relations Board, which normally oversees public sector labor issues, to declare the union's actions illegal. Both times the board found that the university's arguments did not meet the legal standards needed to block a strike.
The university sought injunctive relief on Tuesday, suing the union for breach of contract and accusing workers of violating a no-strike clause in their collective bargaining agreement. In a separate complaint, the State Labor Commission said it was already looking into the matter and questioned whether Orange County Superior Court, which includes Irvine, where one of the strikes took place, was the proper forum for the university to seek relief.
The order did not rule on the validity of the strike or the Board of Trustees' jurisdiction, only that the university had presented sufficient grounds to halt the strike until a hearing could be held. But for practical purposes, it effectively ends the strike: the judge set the next court date for June 27, and only allowed the strike to continue until June 30. In addition, the campus is expected to become dramatically quieter once final exams are over next week.
“We are extremely grateful that the strike has been paused to allow students to complete their studies,” UC Vice Chancellor for University-wide Labor Relations Melissa Matera said in a statement, adding that the strike “may have caused irreparable setbacks in students' academic progress and stalled important research.”
Rafael Jaime, president of UAW 4811, said the strike is “far from over.”
“UC faculty are facing an attack on our entire movement,” he said. “The law is on our side, and we are prepared to continue to defend our rights. And outside, 48,000 faculty members are ready for the long haul.”