By Michael Burke and Ashley A. Smith, EdSource
The agreement means that the typical academic researcher will receive a 29% increase in salary over the life of the contract. For example, an assistant project scientist hired this year would see their wages increase by $3,078 by July, an additional $6,395 by July 2024, and by $19,423 by the end of the contract. Many postdoctoral scholars will receive a 20-23% salary increase — up to $12,000 — by October 2023.
The timing of Monday’s faculty pledge is key, said Simeon Man, an associate professor of history at UC San Diego and one of the organizers of the pledge. The Academic Senate leaders also suggested that faculty consider making final exams optional rather than canceling them altogether, since some students may need to take the exam to raise their grade.
“But the thing that I’ve been stressing to my students is that the disruption is not the fault of the teaching assistants and is not my fault, but is the fault of the administration,” LeBrón said. “It’s the decision that the administration has made essentially to not bargain in good faith with these workers.”
“I think the UC administration is counting on Senate faculty to willingly end the strike. I think it’s important for faculty to know they do not have to do this. We want to mobilize faculty across the UCs to basically stop being used to break up the strike,” Man said.