Berkeley Faculty Association

In a historic first, the Berkeley Faculty Association, or BFA, hosted a joint rally with UC-AFT Local 1474 in solidarity with UAW Local 2865, UAW Local 5810 and SRU-UAW on Wednesday.

The University of California may dock pay from those participating in the ongoing academic worker strike—including faculty striking in solidarity—according to Berkeley Faculty Association Chair James Vernon. 

UC Berkeley faculty stood on the steps of Sproul Plaza, donned in faculty robes and carrying United Auto Workers, or UAW, union signs, looking out on a sea of striking academic workers. 

48,000 academic workers in the United Auto Workers union – which includes postdoctoral scholars, academic researchers, academic student employees and graduate student researchers – across the university went on strike on Monday.

A UC Berkeley workgroup released a draft report detailing its recommendations on how departments should issue and attribute political statements, drawing criticism from the Berkeley Faculty Association as a “chilling of free speech.”

UC Berkeley community members have criticized proposed changes to the campus library system announced Oct. 3, which would limit services and close the Anthropology, Mathematics Statistics and Physics-Astronomy libraries.

A campus student alleged that campus’s COVID-19 isolation policies in the on-campus residential halls have given them no choice but to withdraw for the fall semester.

While a few celebrated the Feb. 28 lifting of the mask mandate, many others argued that it is still necessary.

Whether we like it or not, students, instructors and their households are all about to take part in a giant public health experiment.