LOS ANGELES — In a historic breakthrough, University of California postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers reached a tentative agreement Tuesday on what union leaders described as their highest ever salary increase — but workers won’t return to campus in solidarity with some 36,000 graduate student workers who remain on strike.
“We are proud to have reached agreements that address the soaring cost of living, and reflect the value of our contributions at UC,” Neal Sweeney, president of UAW Local 5810, said in a statement. “These agreements represent a new, best-in-class model that will improve quality of life — and the quality of research — for scientists across the U.S. It is now time for UC to make serious proposals to Academic Student Employees and Student Researchers and to reach fair agreements that recognize the contributions these workers make.”
At a news conference Tuesday, Sweeney said the tentative deal, which must still be ratified by union members, would put UC postdoctoral scholars at higher median pay levels than even pace-setting Stanford.
