Thread by @Laurie_Garrett

Since returning from California I've given comments like yours, @JezebelKat a lot of hard thinking: of course, YOU ARE CORRECT. A Zoom talk is still crossing a picket line. I was not paid for the Berkeley or SF talks & the SF one was sponsored by the Global Health Alliance.
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https://twitter.com/JezebelKat/status/1592959717441081344

2/ There are many reasons folks all over the world -- not just Californians -- should pay close attention to the UC @UAW strike. It's the largest higher education labor action in history, affecting tens of 1000s of striking grad students, postdocs and teaching assistants.
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3/ Here in NYC the strike is barely noted in news media, and is poorly understood. But in Calif support for the strike is growing. And it's easy to see why. MORE
latimes.com/california/sto…

4/ 48,000 workers in the Univ of CA system are on strike, stopping the machinery of the system. The strikers represent the front line teaching force of universities -- they counsel students, grade papers, run classes, supervise labs: They make education & research work.
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5/ This strike is serious business. Universities all over the country should pay heed. The workers are represented by @UAW and will undoubtedly stay on picket lines for as long as it takes to win.
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bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

6/ Some of the background & issues are California-specific, stemming from years of budget squeezes, strangling the UC system, and inaction by the State's top #Democrats, like Gov. Newsom. Chris Newfield blogs are rich with those details: utotherescue.blogspot.com
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7/ But there's a slam of reality here that all universities should study. If you're a TA grad student at, for example, #UCSC earning the median $33,372/year, where will you live? The median rent in the SC area is $3K/mo leaving $3,372/yr for all else. MORE
glassdoor.com/Monthly-Pay/UC…

8/ If you already have your PhD, and work at UCSC, again, as an example, your median salary is $55,560/year. Odds are, you have a child and need a 2-bdrm rental. Good luck with that.
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9/ In my conversations with faculty and staff at UCB & UCSC I found nearly everybody supportive of the strike. Anger was directed at the UC Office of the President, which seems intent on convincing the world that benefits provided to the workers are fair. universityofcalifornia.edu/UAW

10/ For its part, @UAW says, “Our members in the UC system organized their union to win job protections, stop persistent bullying, harassment and discrimination from university supervisors, as well as address the crushing burden of housing expenses.”
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uaw.org/uaw-statement-…

11/ At @UCLA the mean salary for a postdoc is $55,423/yr. glassdoor.com/Salary/UCLA-Po…
Average 1-bedrm rents in the UCLA area devour about 55% of that salary.
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12/ The mean postdoc salary at UC Berkeley is $64,584. glassdoor.com/Salaries/uc-be…
Average apartment rent is $3,312/mo -- about 60% of the postdoc's income.
rentcafe.com/average-rent-m… MORE

13/ As awful as those CA pay-vs-rent rates are, some places are even worse. Consider @NYU where median postdoc pay is $53,915/yr, and average rent is $51,000/yr. Gulp. Campuses all over the USA are watching the UC strike, and considering its implications, writ large.
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14/ I am proud that I got my education from UCSC & UC Berkeley. It was never easy financially, even in my day. But in 2022? It's nuts.
I apologize deeply for having given my unpaid talks over Zoom. For most of my working life I've been a union member. I support the UC strikers.