Students hold up a sign at the sit-down rally Friday at the intersection of Mission and Bay Streets.

Hundreds of workers, students and alumni assembled at UC Santa Cruz to protest the current worker’s union’s contract for its low wages on Friday afternoon. Organizers held a march from the UCSC campus down to the corner of Mission and Bay streets, with union members and supporters wearing green shirts.

Alumni and students sat in the middle of the intersection at Mission and Bay for upward of 30 minutes risking arrest in order to compel the university to increase wages and give pensions.

Workers at the UCSC campus in some departments, such as food service, are making approximately $10 per hour or less, according to protestors. Most union jobs at UCSC pay 25 percent less than comparable jobs at other UC campuses.

“I feel like no matter what, we need to fight for our contract,” said Maria Tadilla, a food service worker at UCSC. “For me, I have two jobs and I have to miss two days of work to do this (protest). But I believe we are going to win.”

Protesters like Tadilla are hoping that the univerity and the rest of the UC system will see the importance of treating its workers better.

“We feed thousands of students a day and we know they have the money to pay us better — all we ask for is fairness because we work so hard,” said Tadilla. “I feel like they (the college) don’t respect us or see us as people, and I feel really sad about the situation.”

UCSC union workers postponed a strike this week in order to wait for news of the contract changes — however, the university offered nothing.

At graduation ceremonies across the state — including at UCSC — speakers canceled due to their support for the worker’s union. At UCSC, speakers Angela Davis, Assemblymember Fiona Ma, professor Wally Goldfrank and former Professor Paul Ortiz all canceled their speeches. At 10 other UC campuses statewide, similar cancellations occurred from former president Bill Clinton and other guest speakers.

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*Photos by Eliza Cole*

(Published in 6/7/08 edition)

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