Quick Take
An Orange County Superior Court judge granted University of California its request for a temporary restraining order Friday forcing the graduate student union to stop its strike, three weeks after workers began walking off the job for free speech rights and in support of Palestine.
An Orange County Superior Court judge granted the University of California’s request for a temporary restraining order Friday forcing the graduate student union to stop its strike, three weeks after workers began walking off the job for free speech rights and in support of Palestine.
United Auto Workers (UAW) 4811 began a “stand-up strike” May 20, with UC Santa Cruz becoming the first campus called to strike. Since then, five additional campuses, including UCLA and UC Irvine, have joined.
In two prior separate attempts, the UC requested injunctive relief through the state’s Public Employment Relations Board but was denied on May 23 and this past Monday. On Tuesday, the UC filed a lawsuit with the Superior Court of Orange County and requested injunctive relief against UAW, accusing the union of breach of contract. Judge Randall J. Sherman granted the temporary restraining order while the court continues to hear the underlying lawsuit.
“We are extremely grateful for a pause in this strike so our students can complete their academic studies,” Melissa Matella, associate vice president for UC Systemwide Labor Relations, said in a statement. “The strike would have caused irreversible setbacks to students’ academic achievements and may have stalled critical research projects in the final quarter.”
While packing up at UCSC’s picket line Friday afternoon, UAW 4811 unit chair Rebecca Gross said the UC’s decision to go to court to stop the strike and the Superior Court’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order were both disappointing.
She added that the union’s executive board was in a meeting Friday afternoon discussing the restraining order and next steps. Gross said it’s not yet clear whether UAW members will continue striking, but their organizing will continue in some form.
“Our union is still maintaining that this one single decision does not mean that the strike has been ruled illegal, it’s just a temporary restraining order,” she said. “And there’s decades of labor law that established the rights of unions to strike over serious [unfair labor practices]. And we think that that is on our side.”
Gross added that the temporary restraining order lasts 20 days and on the order’s last day, June 27, a hearing is scheduled on the lawsuit. While the case in Orange County Superior Court advances, both parties are still arguing the legality of the union’s strike with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board.
UC spokesperson Heather Hansen didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about how the UC would respond if UAW 4811 members continued to strike despite the court’s order.
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