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By Doug Cunningham

Thousands of post-doctoral scholars, researchers and technicians will be doing information pickets at University of California campuses statewide today as they seek to settle their first union contracts. Matthew O’Connor is the post-doc bargaining rep for UAW Local 5810 at the UC Berkeley campus.

[O’Connor]: “We’ve been in negotiations for over a year for our first contract. There’s a few issues still on the table – wage increases and health care benefits.”

O’Connor says the salary and benefits of these workers are funded in large part from federal grants, not state funds from budget-strapped California. Still, O’Connor says the university is refusing pay increases and wants to cut health care benefits.

[O’Connor2]: “We want them to come back to the tale and bargain in good faith over these issues- over wages and benefits – and to stop demanding cuts to our health care.”