MEDIA ADVISORY
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 17, 8 am
ATTENTION: Education, East Bay, Business writers and editors

WHAT

UC Student Strike. From Wednesday, November 18th through Friday, November 20th, thousands of students across the UC system will be “on strike” to protest student fee increases slated to be approved at the UC Regents meeting on the UCLA campus during the same period. On Wednesday, students, faculty, and workers from UCB, UCSC, and UCD will gather on the Berkeley campus in Sproul Plaza for a noon rally followed by a send-off for those traveling to LA to protest at the Regents meeting and a march. On Thursday, Berkeley students will “reclaim” the university, using spaces officially “on strike” to hold teach-ins and demonstrations. On Friday, if the fee increases are passed, student organizers have called for an “escalation.” On Wednesday and Thursday, members of the UCB UPTE union will also be on strike in protest of unfair labor practices and will be holding picket lines at various sites on campus.
 

WHEN AND WHERE

Picket lines all day, Wednesday November 18 and Thursday November 19, Bancroft and Telegraph
Solidarity Alliance Rally, 12-1:30 pm, Wednesday November 18, Sproul Plaza
Teach-ins all day, Thursday November 19, Bear’s Lair Food Court in the MLK Student Union and elsewhere
Mass rally/meeting, 12 pm, Friday November 20, California Hall

WHO

UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty in support of public education. Organized by the Solidarity Alliance (SA) the GSOC (Graduate Student Organizing Committee), the General Assembly, the Student Worker Action Team (SWAT), and the University Professional and Technical Employees Union (UPTE). Endorsed by the University of California Student Association (UCSA) and the UCB Graduate Assembly. Supported by CUE (Coalition of University Employees), AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees), and UC-AFT (American Federation of Teachers).
Speakers at the rally will include:
Ananya Roy, UC Berkeley Professor
Solidarity Coalition at UC Davis: Catherine Fung (Grad Student), Joshua Clover (Professor) and Jeff Bergamini (UPTE)
Berkeley UCUC: Nancy Reiko Kato (UPTE), Joe Pulido (AFSCME), Juan Garcia (CUE), 
Annie McClanahan (UAW), Mary Kelsy (UC-AFT)
Faculty Organizing Group at UCSC: Barbara Epstein (Professor)
Bob Hass, UCB Professor and Former Poet Laureate of the US
UCB Students: Noah Stern, Viola Tang, Sohir Albgal, Marika Goodrich, and others
Solidarity Speaker and Send Off: Kathryn Lybarger (AFSCME and Solidarity Alliance)
 

DETAILS

For more information about the event, please visit ucstrike.com or www.ucsolidarity.org/.
 

CONTACTS

Faculty member/SAVE: Shannon Steen, steen21@berkeley.edu, 510-407-2252
Faculty member/Solidarity: Alliance Michael Cohen, mmcohen@berkeley.edu, 510-590-0508
Lecturer/UC-AFT: Katherine Lee khlee@berkeley.edu, 925-216-5697
Graduate Student/GSOC: Jessie Hock, jessie.hock@gmail.com, 415-695-4068
Undergraduate/CAL-SERVE: Isaac Miller, isaacnoah@gmail.com, 510-725-8350
Undergraduate/ASUC: Dani Haber, dani.n.haber@gmail.com, 310-801-3789
UPTE: Tanya Smith: tanyagays@yahoo.com, 510-325-6381
AFSCME: Kathryn Lybarger: k.lybarger@yahoo.com, 510-459-6250
CUE: Amatullah Alaji Sabrie,.asabrie@law.berkeley.edu, 510-435-8417
Press Contact: Annie McClanahan, ajmcc@mac.com, 415-407-6973