Berkeley, CA – Wednesday, November 23, around 100 people came to support the academic workers’ strike at the University of California, Berkeley. University of California’s 48,000 academic workers have been on a statewide strike that is now heading into its fourth week.

San José, CA – Thousands of University of California students and workers are currently on strike across the state. In late October, the United Auto Workers union which represents 48,000 academic workers, called a strike authorization vote. In a historic vote, 98% of the 36,558 people who participated voted yes to strike. This is the largest academic workers’ strike in the history of the country.

Los Angeles, CA – The fight for public education at UCLA began early this morning, March 4. By sunrise the campus had transformed. A walkout and rally is planned for 11:30 a.m. this morning where students, workers and faculty will join together at Bruin Plaza to denounce the budget cuts. Picket lines led by the unions, AFSCME, UPTE and UWA have sprung up all over and their chants can be heard all from almost everywhere on campus, “Whose university? Our university!” The administration will not be allowed to lay off workers and raise tuition without a fight! Things are expected to heat up as the day goes on, with teach-ins and marches and sit-ins.

San Bruno, CA – On Nov. 18, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) announced that the state was facing budget deficits of $20 billion each year for five more years . Over the past fifteen months, California responded to a total budget deficit of $77 billion with a combination of cuts in spending, increases in taxes on working people, federal economic stimulus monies and accounting tricks.

Interview with organizers for Nov. 10 Education Rights Day of Action

As students and youth across the country prepare for the November 10 day of action for education rights, Fight Back! sat down with Josh Sykesof UNC-Asheville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Sallie Linfrom the Bay Area in California and Stephanie Taylorfrom University of Minnesota SDSto discuss the day of action, organizing the student movement and the movement to demand education as a fundamental right, not a privilege. All three organizers have been deeply involved in building for the day of action, and led the workshop at the Oct. 3 “We Say Fight Back!” conference in Chicago that launched the initiative for the Nov. 10 day of action for education rights.

Fight Back! is circulating the following editorial written by Josh Sykes for the Student Commission of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization .

Los Angeles, CA – The fall quarter started off with a bang across the University of California system, Sept. 24 as thousands of workers, faculty, undergrads and graduate students walked out of work and class to protest severe budget cuts, layoffs, furloughs and tuition hikes.