University of California accused of labor violations over handling of campus protests
OAKLAND, California — Faculty have accused the University of California system of labor law violations over what they called a large-scale campaign to suppress pro-Palestinian speech and campus protests earlier this year across the state.
The University of California Council of Faculty Associations made the allegations in a complaint filed last week with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board. Faculty associations at seven UC campuses signed on to the unfair labor practices complaint, including Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday.
The council said UC administrators threatened professors for teaching about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and initiated disciplinary measures against those who advocated for student camps on campus.
According to the Times, the group’s president, Constance Penley, described the university’s actions as a “relentless campaign to obstruct faculty members’ exercise of academic freedom and to prevent them from teaching about the war in a way that is inconsistent with the university’s position.”
In the spring, protest camps sprang up across the US, including on UC campuses. students demanded that their universities stop doing business with Israel or with companies they say are war in Gaza.
California faculty members have also been investigated for pro-Palestinian social media posts, arrested for exercising their right to free speech, and subjected to surveillance and intimidation by university officials, state records show.
According to The Times, the fallout from the clearing of pro-Palestinian camps near universities is still being felt on campuses across the state months after police cleared them. University officials have implemented new protest rules, and students who protest have faced continued suspensions and blockages on their records.
The university system defended its actions. UC spokeswoman Heather Hansen pointed to a statement the university previously filed with the state labor board in response to an earlier filing by the UCLA Faculty Association.
The university stated that while it “supports freedom of expression and lawful protest,” it also “must ensure that all its community members can continue to study, work, and exercise their rights safely. To that end, it has policies that regulate the time, place, and manner of protest activities on its campuses.”
The Public Employee Relations Board will review and evaluate the case and decide whether to dismiss the charges or to negotiate a settlement. If no settlement is reached, the case will be scheduled for a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.