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To fulfill her responsibilities as a union member and student, Plaskon brought her laptop to the picket line on Wednesday, to type away during breaks.Plaskon was one of them, and said she was in jail for 14 hours."What made it worse,” she added, “is a few days after I was released, I found out I was banned from campus — so I was essentially rendered homeless by the university."
“The university continues to monitor the situation and has developed continuity plans to minimize the disruption,” said Tom Vasich, a spokesperson for UC Irvine.Mark Gradoni, a graduate student who teaches a class in world history, is among those who joined the strike at UC Irvine.In a courtyard just outside the student center, Jessica Rosenow took a moment to enjoy the sun Wednesday before heading to class. She’s a fourth year undergraduate studying English and literary journalism.
Ayesh also said the strike hasn’t affected his classes, and that he’s not worried about losing access to teaching assistants because he relies on himself to learn new material. Still, he expressed sympathy for the strikers. “They’re simply asking for justice,” he said.UC officials have twice sought to quell the labor stoppage by making their case to the state's Public Employment Relations Board. So far, the agency has opted not to seek an injunction against the union.