On one hand, last week’s massive two-day strike by nearly 40,000 University of California workers was exactly what it appeared to be. Employees are falling further behind the skyrocketing cost of living in many areas where UC campuses are located, and they are pressuring UC officials to resolve months-long contract negotiations.
But behind that basic negotiating tactic lies a harder truth: Across multiple unions over the past several years, bargaining sessions with the massive University of California system have consistently reached toxic levels of conflict before they’ve really moved. And there’s no sense that that system is about to change.
