Jul 13, 2008 7:05 pm US/Pacific
8,500 UC Workers Planning To Strike
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
At least 8,500 University of California workers all across the state are planning to strike tomorrow, and UC Davis is just one of the colleges affected. Despite a court order, service workers are planning to walk off the job at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning.
"We've been bargaining with the university for 10 months," said Diamond Robertson, a UC worker. "We've had little-to-no movement in the service unit."
Workers say the UC system pays 25% lower wages, on average, than other California universities and hospitals.
"Most of our workers qualify for welfare or food stamps," Robertson said. "We shouldn't have to live in poverty when we work a full-time job for one of the best universities in the state of California."
A San Francisco Superior Court judge issued a restraining order against the strike on Friday, but the workers are going ahead with the walk-out, saying they have met all the legal requirements to proceed.
Administrators at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento don't agree.
"Any strike activities tomorrow will be deemed as illegal," said Judie Boehmer, a spokeswoman for the center. "There will be disciplinary action."
Administrators say the workers play an important role, but they say that they have a plan in place to keep the hospital's services running throughout the strike. They declined to reveal details of the plan.
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