Senator Bernie Sanders to Join Striking UC Workers on March 20th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2019

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2020 Presidential Candidate to Speak at UCLA Rally

(OAKLAND, CA) – As UPTE-CWA 9119 announced that its Research and Technical workers would go on strike next Wednesday over growing levels of income inequality at the University of California, U.S. Senator and 2020 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced his intention to join striking workers on the picket line at UCLA.

“I think Bernie’s campaign has inspired many of our members to stand up and fight for what they believe in,” said UPTE President Jamie McDole. “When Bernie talks about ‘the top 1%,’ we’ve seen it right here at UC—more and more high-paid executives and administrators and suspect contracts with ties to the regents while workers get squeezed harder and harder and the students and patients suffer.”

In addition, AFSCME Local 3299’s Service and Patient Care Technical workers—the group that staged the 2 largest strikes in UC’s history last May and October—called for a sympathy strike last week in support of UPTE-represented Research and Technical workers.

“The frontline Research and Technical workers represented by UPTE are a vital part of the team of dedicated professionals that run UC every day,” added AFSCME Local 3299 President Kathryn Lybarger. “While UC’s own leaders continue to fail at supporting these working people in concrete ways, we’re pleased to see Senator Sanders highlight workers’ fight by standing with us in solidarity.”

Details of strike locations and times will be released early next week.

UPTE-CWA 9119 and AFSCME Local 3299 represent more than 39,000 Research, Technical, Service, and Patient Care workers at the University of California’s 10 campuses, 5 medical centers, numerous clinics, research laboratories, and UC Hastings College of Law.

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