The national movement to win fair wages for service workers on college campuses continues - this time with a statewide action in California. Vinny Lombardo has the story.

University of California service workers staged a one-day strike at nine
campuses and five medical centers, statewide, Thursday to demand better pay, advancement opportunities and an end to hiring discrimination. When their contract expired last June, shuttle bus driver Larry Cheek, was tapped as the UC Santa Cruz rep on AFSCME's statewide bargaining committee.

[Larry Cheek 1]: "Right from the very start, they've refused to bargain fairly on almost any issue...and they claim that we don't deserve a raise because we don't produce a profit for the university."

Workers haven't had a raise in almost three years. Cheek says the low-pay is a policy decision, and not a budget problem, as the UC claims. A recent study backs up that position.

[Cheek 2]: "The fact-finder found that the University had over 5 billion dollars in reserves, more money than a lot of small countries have."

Talks with UC Regents resume Monday. If their demands are not met, workers say, they'll continue with a larger strike action in the near future.

Vinny Lombardo in Santa Cruz, for the Workers Independent News.