By Melinda Kukaj
OAKLAND, CA – University of California faculty have accused the UC System of labor violations over what the faculty charges is a sweeping campaign suppressing anti-war speech regarding the Gaza War, and campus protests across the state earlier this year.
“The Council of University of California Faculty Associations made the allegations in a complaint filed last week with the state Public Employment Relations Board. Faculty associations at seven UC campuses co-signed the unfair labor practice charge, including Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday,” wrote the Associated Press this week.
The AP states the group’s president, Constance Penley, described the university’s actions as a “relentless campaign to chill faculty’s exercise of their academic freedom and to deter them from teaching about the war in a way that does not align with the university’s position.”
According to AP, the council stated UC administrators have actively threatened faculty due to their teachings of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, launching disciplinary proceedings for those individuals who support on-campus student encampments.
The AP further notes that “protest camps sprang up across the U.S. in the spring, including at UC campuses, as students demanded that their universities cease doing business with Israel or companies they said supported the war in Gaza.”
The New York Times said that “months after police cleared pro-Palestinian encampments at universities, the fallout has continued at campuses statewide, with university officials implementing new protest rules and student protesters grappling with ongoing suspensions and holds on their records.”
The AP notes California faculty also have been investigated for what is claimed to be “pro-Palestinian” social media posts and evidently arrested for exercising their rights of free speech. These faculty members were surveilled as well as intimidated by university representatives, the state filing alleges.
According to AP, the universities stated that while it “supports free speech and lawful protests,” it must also “ensure that all of its community members can safely continue to study, work, and exercise their rights, which is why it has in place policies that regulate the time, place, and manner for protest activities on its campuses.”
The AP reported the UC system defined its actions, and UC spokesperson Heather Hansen noted a university statement filed previously with the state labor board in response to a previous filing by the UCLA Faculty Association.
The Public Employee Relations Board will review and evaluate the case, and decide whether to dismiss the charge or proceed with having parties negotiate a settlement, said the AP, adding if no settlement is reached, the case would be scheduled for a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.
