Union members rallied in support of their ongoing contract negotiations with the University of California.
On Wednesday, October 9th, AFSCME 3299 members held an informational picket across the UC system. The Inland Empire Labor Council joined AFSCME workers and community members outside of UC Riverside’s Glasgow Residential Restaurant to rally in support of AFSCME 3299’s contract negotiations with the University of California.
AFSCME 3299 maintains that the University of California has not been negotiating in good faith with its workers, who are demanding protections related to cost of living, housing and job security, safe staffing, and affordable healthcare. Many UC workers are cost-burdened when it comes to housing, with more than 30% of their income going towards housing alone.
In collaboration with UCR’s Labor and Community Center, Thrive Inland SoCal’s Labor Market Analysis states that: “According to 2022 ACS data, almost 60% of Riverside County renters and almost 61% of San Bernardino County renters spend 30% or more of their household income on rent.” With over half of renters in the Inland Empire being severely cost-burdened, the need for mortgage and rent-sustainable wages in the Inland Empire is extremely urgent.
Due to the lack of mortgage and rent-sustainable wages in our region, many residents of the Inland Empire travel outside the IE to work at UC campuses in other counties. Locals traveling outside of the region for work is not simply because they want to, but because bosses and companies don’t pay workers what they’re worth! Bosses don’t care about the traffic and pollution that’s caused by those long commutes because they don’t live where workers do. It’s time that bosses like the University of California respect AND pay workers what they deserve!
