May Meeting of the Eboard &
Join us at the Regents Meeting!
The monthly meeting of the Executive Board of our local will be held on Friday, May 18th from 10am-2pm at UC Davis, Vorhies 248.
All members are are welcome to attend and participate in all of our meetings. This month we will be discussing plans for the summer, including the GSR collective bargaining rights bill, beginning organizing for our upcoming contract negotiations, and the California budget process.
On May 16th, the Board of Regents of the UC will be meeting in Sacramento, so come join us at the public comment session and help us share the views of grad students and undergrad tutors about tuition increases and repression of protest – then stick around for our own board meeting, where public comment never ends!
You can find details on how to participate in the Regents meeting at our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/
Resolution in Support of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, 4/21/12
UAW Local 2865 endorses the CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, and we encourage our allies and supporters to do the same.
To find out more, and sign a petition to show your support, visit http://www.domesticworkers.org/ca-bill-of-rights and you can tweet support using hashtag #BeTheHelp.
The full text of our Local’s resolution is at http://www.uaw2865.org/solidarity/domestic-workers .
Support fellow UAW members facing political repression
UAW 2865 has taken a lead role this year in defending public education in California, fighting back against proposed tuition hikes, austerity measures, decreased accessibility, and the increased privatization of our campuses. But some of our victories have come at a cost.
Overt criminalization of dissent coupled with physical violence is a de facto way of keeping our members from participating in political activity. As a union we cannot sit idly by, and we call on all of our members to lend support to our fellow union activists and our students facing repression.
For more information and suggestions for action, see http://www.uaw2865.org/solidarity/support-uaw-members
CSU student workers’ support request: prevent financial aid cuts to unionized student workers at the CSU’s
This Wednesday April 18, Chancellor Reed and the 23 CSU campus presidents are meeting in Long Beach to discuss eliminating $90 million in funding State University Grants (SUGs). Over the past year, students working toward advanced degrees have already experienced a 12% fee increase and the discontinuation of the federal subsidized loan program.
If approved, this enormous cut to CSU’s financial aid program would force thousands of graduate students to drop out, increase time to degree, take on increased and detrimental debt, or never start graduate school in the first place.
You can take action now to stop cuts to graduate student financial aid! For more information:
http://www.uaw2865.org/solidarity/prevent-financial-aid-cuts-csus
End repression and prosecution of education activists!
Defend your union brothers and sisters!
For more details, see the Berkeley campus unit page.
Member Workload and Work Security survey is live and awaiting member input!
One of our current campaigns is to ask members for input on workload that will let us assess how many more TA,GSI, and reader positions we will need to meet the needs of our students without working more hours than we are paid.
Members, we ask you to fill out an online survey as a tool for addressing the growing workload, class size, and appointment insecurity we face. Please spread the word to your fellow students, department email lists, and on facebook! The survey is up through May 11, 2012.
The survey is here: http://www.uaw2865.org/know-your-rights/workload-survey.
March 5: Occupy the Capitol with your union!
As part of the ReFund California coalition, UAW Local 2865 will be part of the actions happening March 5. Thousands of students, parents, teachers, and workers will flood into Sacramento.
The “Make Banks Pay” actions are organized by Refund California, a state-wide coalition of homeowners, community members, faith leaders and students working to make Wall Street banks pay for destroying jobs and neighborhoods with their greedy, irresponsible and predatory business practices.
March 1: National Day of Action for Education
UAW Local 2865 knows that our working conditions are inextricably linked to the state of education in California and the US. This spring we’re proud to partner with broad coalitions calling for action to keep the pressure on our elected officials. We are part of the upcoming March 1 actions. Watch our posts on twitter (@uaw2865), our facebook page, and our event page for details about what members and supporters can do! Please spread the word to your fellow students, department email lists, and on facebook!
This nationwide call to action is issued in coordination with a Call for a Statewide Day of Action in Defense of Public Education on March 1 in California with statewide actions in Sacramento March 3-8.”
minutes: UAW Local 2865 Executive Board Meeting, UC Merced 2/11/12
The Local 2865 Executive Board held their February meeting recently, and would like to share the meeting notes with Members and the public. Find the minutes in the Membership Updates section of our site, or here.
February 14 and 15: Time to Vote!
This Tuesday and Wednesday on all campuses, members are voting for Southern Vice President of our local. Find voting locations and times for your campus, and read about the two candidates for Southern VP: Rob Ackermann (UCSB) and Erin Conley (UCLA). Democratic control of our union by our members is the backbone of our union’s strength, so please cast your vote!
If you’re a member at UCLA, there is also voting for Head Steward candidates, you can find candidate statements here.
Protest the UC Regents, 1/18-19, UC Riverside
The UC Regents are meeting Jan 18-19th (Wed & Thur) at the HUB at UC Riverside (Highland Union Building). UAW2865 is in solidarity with UC students and wokers to defend public higher education. To learn more about upcoming events at the UC Regents meeting, please click here: UC Riverside.
There is an Alternative: Organize, Mobilize, Occupy!
Statement in support of the Occupation of Wall Street
UAW Local 2865 endorses the ongoing movement to Occupy Wall Street and other sites of corporate and financial power. Workers, students, and community members from coast to coast have mobilized to both oppose cuts in funding for vital public services and demand that corporations and the richest members of society pay their fair share. We support and stand with those fighting against corporate greed and inequality.
Since the economic meltdown of 2008, workers and students have been forced to swallow the bitter pill of austerity while those corporate heads and financiers responsible for the implosion have grown richer than ever. Public sector employees continue to face an onslaught of attacks upon their benefits and livelihoods, students are confronted with higher tuitions and indebted futures, and average workers in the private sector are daily forced to meet the specter of unemployment and poverty head-on. Meanwhile, the income gap between the top one percent and the bottom ninety-nine continues to grow ever wider. Adding insult to injury, the wealthiest Americans and the politicians who do their bidding refuse to invest in the wellbeing of those who actually create their wealth. We sow the seeds, and they reap the rewards.
In California, corporate and right-wing interests have been on the cutting edge of a nation-wide political effort to force austerity upon the majority of state residents – all the while continuing to support tax breaks for millionaires and corporations. In concert with a coalition of labor, student, and community organizations, UAW Local 2865 is working to mobilize discontent over immanent budget shortfalls into direct action to ReFund essential social services in the state. A renewed commitment to – and investment in – the public realm would create millions of new jobs and provide California workers and students with important services. We believe that Wall Street and those who have profited from the financial crisis should pay for the damage they have caused to the public at large. An increase in income taxes on the wealthiest one percent, as well as the repeal of corporate property tax loopholes, would ensure that all Californians have access to important services such as education.
Enough is enough. There is an alternative to austerity and inequality: organize, mobilize, and demand that corporations and the richest Americans pay their fair share to refund vital public services and public education!
Conference Room Reserved
Intn"l Union Mtg.