Voters Across Parties Support UC-UAW Strike and Union Efforts for COVID-19 Safety in the Workplace
By Anika Dandekar and Matt Mazewski
On November 14, unions representing nearly 48,000 teaching and research assistants, postdoctoral scholars, and other academic workers at 10 campuses of the University of California (UC) system began one of the largest strikes in the history of American higher education. Their demands have included wage increases to keep pace with a soaring cost of living, greater subsidies for childcare and transportation expenses, protections for international student workers, and measures to promote workplace safety and accessibility, especially in light of the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and other viral illnesses. The efforts by the three UC unions — UAW 2865, UAW 5810, and Student Researchers United-UAW — come as unions across different occupations and industries have sought to make workplace coronavirus protections a subject of contract negotiations. A major agreement reached last month by Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, which represents around 1,000 nurses at the hospital, included a guarantee that the medical center will maintain for them a stockpile of high-quality personal protective equipment. On-the-job coronavirus safety has also been an animating issue behind union campaigns at major employers like Amazon, Starbucks, and Trader Joe’s.
A new national survey by Data for Progress of 1,194 voters reveals that voters across party self-identification support the strike by UC academic workers and are also broadly in favor of unions seeking to include provisions in contracts that would improve workplace coronavirus safety.
A Majority of Voters Support the University of California Graduate Workers’ Strike
We asked voters whether they support or oppose University of California academic workers’ strike to negotiate contract changes. Respondents were shown a message in support of the strike that mentioned many workers’ inability to afford basic needs, as well as a message in opposition to the strike that included a claim about how student tuitions might have to increase to meet the unions’ demands. A majority of voters support the UC-UAW strike, including a majority of Democrats by a +62-point margin, a majority of Independents by a +30-point margin, and a plurality of Republicans by a +8-point margin. These results are in line with those of Data for Progress polling earlier this year that found majority support among likely voters for student worker unionization efforts in general.
Bipartisan Majority of Voters Support Union Efforts for Coronavirus Safety Provisions
As the UC unions have bargained toward a contract with the university system, a coalition led by disabled student workers has advocated for expanded health and safety provisions to be included in any agreement, in order to ensure that campus workplaces remain as safe and accessible as possible in the context of the ongoing pandemic.
We asked voters whether they support or oppose union efforts to include provisions in contracts that would require employers to take steps to reduce coronavirus transmission in the workplace, including by offering free testing, providing high-quality masks, upgrading ventilation and air filtration, and allowing remote work options where possible. Over two-thirds of voters (68 percent) support union efforts to include mitigation provisions in contracts. This includes majorities of Democrats (by a +43-point margin), Independents (by a +77-point margin), and Republicans (by a +14-point margin).
Conclusion
The past few years have seen a dramatic upswing in worker collective action across many different industries, and higher education has been no exception. These findings confirm earlier survey results by Data for Progress showing widespread support for student worker unionization. They make clear that there is a broad, bipartisan coalition in favor of the academic labor movement, as well as of efforts by unions to secure workplace coronavirus safety measures through the collective bargaining process. Voters recognize the important role that organized labor has to play in guaranteeing that careers in academia remain viable and accessible to all who choose to pursue them, and that workers in every sector of the economy are afforded protection against the risk of serious illness on the job. Major employers should note: The country is largely on the side of organized labor.
Anika Dandekar (@AnikaDandekar) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.
Matt Mazewski (@mattmazewski) is a fellow at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From December 3 to 6, 2022, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,194 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.