AJLPP
July 15, 2008
Contact; Al P. Garcia
Phone- (213)241-0906

AJLPP Supports 5 Days UC State Wide Workers Strike

Los Angeles --The Alliance- Philippines (AJLPP) expresses militant solidarity support to the five days strike declared by University of California (UC) workers,( many of them Filipinos) who went on a five day strike starting July 14 all over California.

More than 9,000 University of California workers went on a five-day strike at UCʼs ten campuses and five medical centers. The strike will begin on July 14th and conclude on July 18th. During the strike, hundreds of medical workers mostly Filipinos manned the picket lines and refused to work.

At issue are poverty wages as low as $10 per hour. Many employees work 2-3 jobs and qualify for public assistance to meet their familiesʼ basic needs. UC wages have fallen dramatically behind other hospitals and Californiaʼs community colleges where workers are paid family-sustaining wages that are on average of 25% higher.

In addition, when workers have stood up for better lives for their families and better working conditions, the University has retaliated by violating labor laws. On the other hand, the administrators gave themselves more than 80% increase according to Filipino workers in San Francinsco State University.

96% of service workers are eligible for at least one of the following forms of public assistance: food stamps, WIC, public housing subsidies and subsidized child care, creating a potential burden for CA taxpayers. Increasing wages would not only help lift workers out of poverty, but could positively impact CA and the low- and moderate-income areas where UC workers live as they contribute more to their local economy.