Santa Cruz

“I am a graduate student researcher in the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph.D. program. I am currently studying the biochemistry of the mechanisms connecting the processes of cell growth with cell cycle progression in baker’s yeast. I believe that Graduate Student Researchers are the heart of the research enterprise at the University of California. As such, it is time that we have a voice in our jobs, which will be possible through our union. A student researcher union would bring labor protections, the power to bargain collectively for better working conditions, and a path to proper regulations so that we do not feel like cheap graduate labor.” – Francisco Mendez Diaz

“I am a graduate student in the Astronomy & Astrophysics department at UCSC studying supermassive black holes. We deserve protections that come from having a union contract, just like the TAs. As researchers it’s critical that we have a way to ensure safe working conditions, protections from discrimination, and a space to bargain for better pay.” – Sierra Dodd

“I am a graduate student researcher in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at UCSC studying natural products and their potential as novel therapeutics for non-small cell lung cancer. I have joined the campaign to unionize Student Researchers because of the inequalities that students at academic institutions face. As researchers, unionizing will give us the collective power to raise the standards of our working conditions and to bargain with the UC to improve our compensation. It will also be a space where we can fight for research to become more accessible to underserved populations.” – David A. Delgadillo

“I am a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz studying factors affecting the dispersal and movement of fish in the Eastern Pacific. I have witnessed disparaging remarks, discrimination, and harassment in my department and division against graduate students, specifically against women, students who are parents, and students who don’t “fit the mold” of what biologists traditionally look like (read: white, cis, male). I support forming a union because of the additional protections against harassment and discrimination that our union could provide for student researchers.” – Katherine Dale

“I am a second year grad in astronomy & astrophysics, studying exoplanets and looking for life elsewhere in the universe. I strongly believe in the value of unions for protecting workers. As student researchers, we are workers, and our labor deserves protections too! The contractual workplace protections that a union provides are essential for researchers to ensure that we have recourse if we are treated poorly or harassed, something lacking in contemporary academic structures. Additionally, with exploding costs of living throughout California, unionizing will formalize our collective strength and enable us to bargain for better pay to help us live here while we work.” – Nicholas Scarsdale

“I’m a Graduate Student Researcher in the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology program at UC, Santa Cruz. I study the epigenetics of X chromosome regulation in C. elegans germ cells. Currently, GSR pay levels are decided by individual departments. This allows for unequal pay for graduate students doing equal work. Forming our union will allow us to fight for transparency and increased adequate pay for all Graduate Student Researchers. I also believe we should have a collective space to dialogue the ambiguity in the GSR position such as how hours worked for the GSRship differ from hours worked on our “independent” research.” – Braden Larson

“I am a PhD student in the Department of Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics, where I develop methods to use graph theory to analyze populations of genomes. The work that we do as GSRs is essential to the research mission of the University of California. We deserve to have a stronger voice in the UC’s decision making processes. A union will provide a venue for us to assert our collective power on issues like pay, discrimination, abuse, and working conditions.” – Jordan Eizenga