UC Research and Public Service Professionals Vote to Unionize
2 days ago
- #higher education
- #labor unions
- #UAW
- Research professionals at the University of California system voted overwhelmingly to unionize, adding 7,200 employees to the UAW.
- The new union, RPSP-UAW, represents Research and Public Service Professionals (RPSPs), including grant administrators, policy analysts, and data specialists.
- The vote passed by a significant margin: 3,080 to 612.
- Chris Gifford, a project policy analyst at UC Santa Barbara, highlighted the challenges of budget cuts and external attacks on higher education.
- UCSB had the highest voter turnout among UC campuses, with roughly 125 RPSPs.
- Key priorities for the union include raising wages, improving healthcare, and formalizing remote work flexibility.
- RPSPs play a vital role in supporting groundbreaking research, such as oceanography, climate change, wildfires, and medical research.
- The unionization effort is part of a broader movement in higher education labor organizing, with over 50,000 UC workers now unionized under UAW.
- Workers hope the union will protect jobs and uphold the public mission of the UC system.