Candidate Statements – San Diego Unit
Unit Chair: Vote for only one (1)
Donald D. Johnson, Jr
As a fourth year Biochemistry PhD candidate at UCSD, I have worked in the lab and outside the
lab to alter this community into a more active and inclusive environment for graduate students. In
continuing my work, I am running for the Unit Chair position at UCSD for UAW2865. Since the
end of my first year, I have sat on the UCSD Graduate Student Association (GSA) as a Chemistry and
Biochemistry representative and as the Vice President for Diversity, Service, Equity and Inclusion. In
the time I have worked on GSA, I have stopped many measures that would negatively affect the
graduate student population at UCSD. One measure was to cut the VP Diversity position, so the other
GSA executives could raise their stipends. The year before this, I organized a majority of GSA council
to block the GSA execs from raising their salaries. As the VP Diversity, I have: (1) ushered in an era of
constitutional/by-law reform, (2) lead major efforts in winning childcare initiatives and benefits for
graduate student researchers, (3) won cheaper dependent healthcare for those under SHIP, and (4) begun
a push of policy change through the various campus wide committees across UCSD. In all, I have been
acting on behalf of graduate students long before ever considering the Unit Chair position at UCSD for
UAW2865.
I am running on change. I want to change the way membership meetings are run. Everyone
deserves a chance to speak, so I will be instituting a public forum for all members to speak and present
ideas. I will pursue a structured agenda that will go out to the entire UCSD union membership. I will
expand the location of membership meetings to more central locations on this campus. I will promote
stronger ties to the community through service related events. And, I will lead a fair, inclusive and
balance unit and will welcome the current leadership into the fold with constructive dialogue.
Currently, our numbers only represent a fraction of the potential voices we are not hearing.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are not fully represented by the
UCSD local. Poor membership is one facet that relates to the culture and hostile environment that the
leadership has created. With these measures in mind, we hope to increase the membership from ~30% to
numbers that make the UC contract negotiators realize we have a voice.
Thank you, and I hope that you support me and the other SWITCh candidates on April 29th and 30th.
Malathi Iyengar
My name is Malathi Iyengar and I would like to serve you, my fellow student-workers, in the position of
Unit Chair for the local chapter of our union, UAW 2865.
Like many of you, I am a teacher. Before joining the PhD program in Ethnic Studies at UCSD, I taught
for many years in public school settings (grades K-2), wrote children’s books, and earned an MA in
Education. I do not see my decision to pursue the Ethnic Studies PhD as a “career change”; rather, I
view all of the work I’ve done – from teaching elementary-aged students, to working with undergrads at
UCSD, to preparing my dissertation on transnational histories of education – as part of a single, unified
project. That project is to help shape a society that truly supports the intellectual growth of all of its
members.
My experiences as a public school teacher have helped me to understand the importance of collective
action and solidarity among educational professionals. We who perform the embodied labor of carrying
out foundational academic instruction in this public university cannot afford to simply put our heads
down and allow people far-removed from the classroom – overpaid administrators, self-aggrandizing
bureaucrats, career-building politicians, or money-driven corporate partners – to make all the
decisions. We must ensure that our perspectives and insights are heard in the discussions that determine
our working conditions and shape our students’ experiences. Our VOICE FROM THE CLASSROOM
must serve as a relentless reminder to administration that the central mission of the public university is
to support the academic progress of students at all levels and to promote the intellectual advancement of
society at large.
If elected as Unit Chair, I will:
Engage intensively and diplomatically in the ongoing negotiations to secure the best possible
contract for our members, with meaningful improvements in terms of working conditions (e.g. class
size), worker protections, and compensation.
Work with our Head Stewards to build a stronger union, focusing on professionalism,
transparency, democratic decision-making, and sustained rank-and-file participation.
Organize frequent workshops for face-to-face communication between individual union members
and elected representatives, so that we can all have our specific perspectives and concerns heard by the
leadership. Undocumented students, international students, students with disabilities, older students,
student-parents and others with significant caregiving responsibilities, first-generation academics – all
should have a place at the round-table that is the union of student-workers.
Work closely with our union’s Anti-Oppression Committee and support campus groups striving
to combat educational racism and improve campus climate.
Strengthen our chapter’s links with other organized labor groups – particularly AFSCME 3299,
the union representing our hardworking campus service workers.
Today’s TAs are my daughter’s future professors! The priorities we fight for today – from fair pay and
working conditions, to a renewed focus on the university’s intellectual mission, to the assurance of
dignity and respect for all university workers – will shape the direction of higher education for the next
generation. Rank-and-file student-workers, together we CAN have an impact. Unity is strength!
Recording Secretary: Vote for only one (1)
Huong Thien Nguyen
My name is Huong “Thien” Nguyen, and I am a fourth-year graduate student researcher (GSR) in the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCSD. I am running for the position of Recording
Secretary on the SWITCh slate because I believe that improving transparency in the local UAW2865,
reviving member recruitment and increasing diversity in UAW leadership are important for effective
contract bargaining.
As a GSR with six quarters of TA experience, I have been through and seen friends undergo unfair labor
treatment, such as crippling TA/GSR workloads, unethical termination and denial of rightful funding
from TA-ships. These issues initially prompted me to support GSR unionization through the UAW to
make a difference. But, what prompts me to run for office is the insufficient representation of TAs in
STEM fields in the UAW leadership. Without voices from STEM fields, how can issues that affect
those fields the most be heard? As Recording Secretary, I will work to meet with TAs from underrepresented departments to make sure the UAW hears our voices.
In addition, the current leadership has been ineffective in increasing membership. UCSD UAW
membership is at an all time low at ~30% of TAs. I have spoken to first-year TAs who would love to
participate in the UAW but have not been given the opportunity. As Recording Secretary, I will revive
membership from all departments at UCSD by recruiting graduate students at orientation and current
non-members. The bargaining power of the UAW is as strong as its membership.
However, strong membership alone cannot support the UAW if there is a lack of transparency.
Members need to be informed that contract renewal has been stalled for several months, leaving TAs,
tutors and readers vulnerable. According to uaw2865.org, the leadership is blaming the UC
management for dragging their feet in negotiations. However, current leadership wants members to
think that they are working hard on their behalf when in reality they are deliberately stalling contract
bargaining. To get the truth, a member would have to contact the local Recording Secretary if he or she
wanted actual meeting details. As the local Recording Secretary and a representative in contract
negotiations, I will work to make meeting minutes and all other pertinent documents promptly
accessible to members through the uaw2865.org site. I believe that without transparency trust and
productive discourse cannot exist.
By running for Recording Secretary with SWITCh, I am taking a stand against the current ineffective
leadership and against the lack of transparency and inclusiveness statewide. Please stand with me by
voting for the SWITCh slate and help restore the power of our UAW members.
Alborz Ghandehari
My name is Alborz and I am a third year PhD student in Ethnic Studies. I have been a head steward in
our union for three years. During my time in the union, I have participated in a number of outreach
initiatives to build the mobilizing capacity and base of our union. While when I first started as a head
steward, meetings did not have more than 6 or 7 people, as a result of these multi-departmental outreach
efforts, the number of core activists in the union has risen greatly. As your recording secretary I will
continue to:
1) work towards expanding and diversifying rank-and-file membership participation
through interdepartmental outreach workshops so that we can further build mobilizing
capacity among different members of our diverse base
2) engage in the bargaining process as persistently as possible to ensure that working
students get the benefits they need. This is a crucial moment for our contract fight. Studentworkers deserve a living wage for the teaching service they offer thousands of undergraduate
students. Currently, a TA working 50% time makes $6000 below the cost of living in San
Diego. The UC has been unwilling to provide access to teaching assistant fellowships for
undocumented immigrant student-workers. UC says, “We don’t care about undocumented
students.” Limited movement has been seen on our demands that child care subsidies be
increased and dependent healthcare costs be eliminated. UC is sending the message, “If you
are a student and a parent, we don’t care about you or your kids.” This is not the time to
shake hands with the UC over an empty contract which is what the opposition will do if
elected. It is time to be on the offensive and mobilize to win the demands we all deserve. In
the past, I have seen a strategy of mobilization and direct action work in getting our demands
met and now it is time to use our collective pressure to push bargaining forward.
3) work for local campus autonomy in the union as much as possible so as not to be limited
by a distant centralized state-wide leadership that is not as familiar with local issues at UC
San Diego. Continual regular sessions about statewide decision-making processes to San
Diego members will ensure that UCSD workers maintain their decision-making power.
Our slate, POWER, believes in a union where rank and file members feel empowered to be involved in
the work ahead of all of us, not a union where union leaders are not accountable to members. We believe
in an anti-oppression organizing approach that takes issues of race, class, and gender, among others,
particularly structural racism in the education system, seriously. We wish to strengthen links with
service workers, undergraduate students, and faculty. We believe in a university that is not about profits
but the collective endeavor of education, meaning it must be run by the students and workers that sustain
it. We see our work as part and parcel to broader social justice struggles of our time.
Head Steward: Vote for no more than eight (8)
Amelia Ray
My name is Amelia Ray, I’m a 4th year PhD student in the Chemistry department at UCSD and I
am running for the positions of Trustee and Head Steward here at San Diego. I firmly believe that our
union should be an inclusive organization that represents a variety of opinions and backgrounds in order
to ensure that it is serving the best interests of all TAs, graders, readers and graduate students. We need
to focus on maintaining the quality of life of our members as they continue through their education,
guaranteeing that our university will continue to be competitive on a national level. We should be
focusing on issues that affect us on a daily basis, including making sure that students in all fields can
continue to afford their education. As your representative, I will focus on issues that will help us move
forward on our shared goals. These include, but are not limited to, wage increases for all graduate
students to ensure competitive offers from the university, adequate support for families and those
students who wish to start a family, campus accessibility including working with our campus to
continue to improve the local transit options, and ensuring that the work load for TAs continues to be
manageable.
As a graduate student in STEM I spend most of time doing research in my lab. Over the past five
months serving as a Head Steward here in San Diego I’ve very much enjoyed my union activities and
they have served as an excellent break from research when I need it. I’ve enjoyed getting to know many
of you much better and I hope that we can continue our productive dialogue and make this union strong
and supportive to each of your individual needs. My mission is to make sure that no one is falling
through the cracks and failing to get their degree because they are not receiving the support that they
were promised and that they are entitled to. If elected, I will continue my work in support of our
campaign for graduate student researcher collective bargaining rights and I will continue to help those in
need with the grievance process here on campus to make sure that those rights already guaranteed by our
contract are being honored. Only together can we make progress, and I would like to stand up and be
your voice.
Please vote for me and all other SWITCH candidates on April 29th and 30th.
Ben Madej
Hello, my name is Ben Madej and I am a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry. I am running for a Head Steward position with the SWITCH slate in the UCSD UAW
2865.
I am running for Head Steward because I will make our union a more effective group to address the
needs and concerns of graduate students and undergraduate workers at UCSD. Our union should
represent us for our most important issues:
- Negotiating with the administration on a competitive contract including workload, workplace rights,
and wages and benefits
- Continuing to push for Graduate Student Researcher collective bargaining rights
- Supporting and representing students in workplace disputes and problems with our employers
I would like to increase union membership at UCSD. We need to make our union a welcoming group to
present and future students. As Head Steward I will work with you and for you in the union. UAW 2865
should be a resource for ALL graduate students at UCSD, regardless of where you come from.
Our union should be clear about its goals and actions for our fellow graduate students. I am running with
the SWITCH slate to establish an open, accessible leadership that will listen to you. The SWITCH slate
will make transparent agendas and decisions based on our members' input.
I am currently a fourth year PhD student doing research in computational chemistry. I intend to bring
more science and engineering representation to our union. But most importanly, I hope to make our
union a better resource for our current members and for future graduate students.
Please vote for me and all the other SWITCH candidates on April 29 and 30.
Kate Veccharelli
My name is Kate Veccharelli, I am a third year graduate student in Chemistry and Biochemistry,
and I am running for the position of Head Steward. I am running with the SWITCh slate because I
believe that our organization should be inclusive of all graduate students, regardless of creed, gender,
race or orientation. At this present time, our membership rates are below 40%, which is at an all-time
low. Also, our current numbers only represent a fraction of potential voices, since Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are not fully represented by the UCSD local.
I believe that in order to make necessary changes, we need more graduate students involved with
UAW2865. Currently our contract is still under negotiation and in order for us to win a contract that
meets our needs we need change. The primary changes that we need are increased wages to close the
competitiveness gap with peer institutions and remit (G) SHIP premiums for all dependents of academic
student employees. However, these changes cannot happen if our contract is still under negotiation far
past the deadline. In order for us to win a contract, we must engage a majority of our student workers. I
will accomplish these actions as a head steward by reaching out to all departments on campus to
increase our membership. As a TA and a graduate student researcher, I strive to improve the lives of our
members though fair treatment of all student workers.
Thank you and I hope that you support me and the other SWITCh candidates on April 29th and 30th.
David Lee
My name is David “John” Lee, and I am running for the position of Head Steward. I am a fourth year
graduate student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry running with the SWITCh slate.
I strongly believe that for a union to be effective, it needs both participation and representation. Our
union desperately needs an infusion of both. With only one science-related member in our union
leadership, our union inadequately represents science, technology, and math (STEM) students. This is
mirrored in the incredibly low union membership in these fields.
If we want to make meaningful negotiation with the University, we need union membership that the
University will respect. Of the 4200 graduate students at UCSD, over 2700 are from STEM fields. These
graduate students are the primary source of education for 58% of the undergraduate student body in
STEM fields (13,800/23,800 students). Essentially, without the STEM field support the UC can and
does ignore the Union’s needs. Without any representation, the STEM fields will neither have their
needs met nor be inclined to join and participate in the union.
We are scientists. We are open minded and we like numbers, transparency, and clarity. By working
within the union, I will improve our strength by using transparency and clarity to grow our support
within STEM fields. I envision a strong Union with active participation from every field.
We need to make meaningful changes to our contract. We need to adequately represent all of the
academic student employees here at the UC. Without change, there will be no progress. The only party
that benefits from our current state is the University.
Thank you. I hope you will consider this opportunity for change and vote for me and the other
candidates on the SWITCh slate April 29th and 30th.
Caleb Richard Scoville
My name is Caleb Scoville, I’m a political science graduate student at UCSD, and I am running for the
position of Head Steward on the SWTICh slate. I believe that our union needs to return to effective
organizing practices which engage a majority of our membership. Our union should be an inclusive
organization which every graduate student and undergraduate student worker wants to be a part of,
regardless of political ideology.
As a student, my research interests are centered on environmental issues. These interests are revolve
around two interrelated questions: (1) By what social processes is one’s conception of and relationship
with “nature” formed? (2) What are the barriers to and possibilities for participatory responses to
ecological problems?
As an activist I have worked with a variety of organizations including Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro
Choice, Oregon Literacy, Oregon Bus Project, Oregon Commons, Edúcate Ya, and Environmental
Action.
As head steward, I will reach out to members across disciplinary lines, taking feedback seriously, and
prioritizing projects which will most improve the lives of our members.
Please vote for myself and all other SWITCh candidates April 29th and 30th.
Amanpreet Kaur
I am 3rd year PhD student in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering under the
supervision of Prof. Carlos Coimbra. My research focuses on net load forecasting and its application for
reliable integration of renewable energy technologies with the smart grid. I am an international student
and I have been living in United States for the last five years. Based on my personal and my friend’s
experience there are many different concerns international students face and most of the time it is lack of
information. This year, I am running for Head Steward position at UC San Diego to accomplish
following things:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increase the transparency in the way the union runs and make students aware of their rights
Work with international students to bring up their voice and concerns to the table
Make sure that the concerns from the engineering department are heard
Engage in activities that advance the interests of women in graduate school
Work to make sure that PhD students with financial constraints/low income, especially married
couples with only spouse working, can get extended on campus housing
Please vote for me and all other SWITCH candidates on April 29th and 30th.
Pablo Pérez A.
I’m Pablo Pérez A., a third year PhD student in Sociology. I’m an international student who is running
for Head Steward for our union UAW 2865. I firmly believe that the union is essential for fighting for
what we deserve as student/workers of the University of California, and for finding solutions to the
problems many of us face as international students. As you probably know, we’re in the middle of a
bargaining process with the UC administration. I think that our chances of succeeding depend entirely
on our capacities to work together as workers, students, and in general as people who are continuously
affected by the way that the education is being privatized. University of California’s privatization has
meant not only fewer resources for us as grad students (e.g. fewer resources for doing research or fewer
funding opportunities). It has also meant fewer resources for us as TAs, readers, and tutors, which has
affected negatively both our labor conditions and the quality of the work we can give to our students.
I believe that a strong union is key for solving all those problems. However, I don’t see the union as a
mere instrument to get higher wages or better labor conditions. I also conceive of the union as a place
that everyone can actively participate in, where everyone can feel free to express their opinions,
questions, and more importantly, as a place in which everyone can get involved to look for collective
strategies aimed at solving the problems we are facing. In other words, I see the union as a place for
collective empowerment. Therefore, if chosen to represent you, I will work hard to create a rank-and-file
run union, in which the decision-making can effectively be a bottom-up process rather than a top-down
process. I will work hard to create a much more democratic and less bureaucratized union because that’s
the only way we can effectively organize our interests, with real and effective collective power. At the
same time, I will devote special attention to the development of initiatives aimed at increasing
international students’ participation in the union. International students are an essential part of the
university, so their demands must be a central component of the union.
I’ve been working in the UAW 2865 as an active member for more than two years. I know all the people
who are running in the slate. We have been working for the same amount of time both in the union and
in other initiatives on campus (which also include several undergrad students) in order to create a
powerful student body able to represent the interests of everyone who is not satisfied with the way that
the university works. We’ve made some progress, but there’s still a lot to do. You’re invited to be part of
this collective process. We need the union, and the union needs us.
Solidarity forever.
Linh Nguyen
My name is Linh Nguyen and I’m running as Head Steward in the UAW 2865. As a graduate student in
the Ethnic Studies department, and an experienced TA, I believe that the leadership of our campus unit
should come from those with direct experience working with students as teaching assistants and
understand the unique challenges and conditions of our labor. For me, active participation in the union is
an extension of my education and an arena where the vision of student-workers can be formulated as a
social justice project uniting theory and practice--a space where our radical critiques of systemic
inequality may be directly challenged.
As a member of the union over the last three years, I have participated in various strikes, actions and
have had the opportunity to serve as Head Steward following a vacancy since February. I believe that as
a student-worker run collective, there is strength in the reality that we come to the union with diverse
backgrounds and experience in organizing and I am excited by the possibility for those interested to
engage in improving our working conditions to participate and make their voices and concerns heard,
regardless of their previous experience or lack thereof. I look forward to engaging my fellow workers
beyond monthly meetings and isolated actions. I hope that through more outreach and direct
involvement, with the POWER caucus we can work collectively to envision and fight for antioppressive working conditions and horizontal leadership both within our union and the university
structure.
Maria Celleri
My name is María Célleri and I am running for the position of head steward in the UC Student-Worker
Union, UAW 2865. I am a first-year PhD student in the Ethnic Studies Department.
I have dedicated both my academic career and my organizing efforts to social justice and antioppression struggles. Since my undergraduate career, I have been dedicated to working within the
college campus and improving the lives and learning experiences of the most underrepresented students.
I was involved with Incite! Violence against Women of Color, Binghamton Chapter, organizing student
workshops to raise awareness of the quotidian violence against Women of Color on campus. In my
hometown of New York City, I worked with NMASS (National Mobilization against Sweat Shops)
working in the ‘Ain’t I a Woman? Campaign’ dedicated to organizing with workers fighting against the
subcontracting system in the garment and food service industries. Since relocating to San Diego, I have
become more involved with UAW 2865, recognizing the importance of improving the campusexperience for all students as a united struggle and effort. I have been involved in helping organize this
year’s strike, finding value in the inclusion of different voices and perspectives. My goal is to continue
my efforts to raise awareness of connected issues among both graduate students workers and the larger
student body such as organizing around smaller class sizes.
Committed to social justice work, I look forward to running with the People Organizing Workers for
Empowerment and Rights-POWER caucus. Recognizing the importance of a diversity of tactics, both
reform and direct action, I will continue to fight for a more democratic, inclusive, and just campus. More
specifically, I will focus on outreach, directing my efforts to integrating the participation of
underrepresented members. Increasing participation will also lead to a more transparently-run union; I
hope to achieve this by organizing outreach activities and increasing departmental networks.
Daniel Alejandro Gutiérrez
My name is Daniel Alejandro Gutiérrez and I’m running for the position of Head Steward in our
union, UAW Local 2865. I’m a first year MA student in Latin Americans Studies and will continue on
to Ethnic Studies upon finishing the LAS program. Through my knowledge, my experience, and my
vision, I hope you can trust me to help push our union forward to secure us better living conditions.
Through my studies I have developed a deep knowledge of labor history. I’ve learned how the
labor movement has come under attack over the years and become weakened. The administration has
attacked us under the guise that the university has no money. But that’s completely false. The university
does have money, it’s just spending it in the wrong places.
The upper-administration has been sucking up funds while attacking our wages and our
livelihood. I have reported extensively for the San Diego Free Press regarding the strikes and student
actions, cataloguing the outrageous misspending of the administration. Deans and chancellors across the
University of California have spent millions — literally millions — of university funds for their own
personal benefit. From installing shatterproof windows at their private residence (UCSF chancellor
Desmond-Hellman) to racking tabs of $647,000 on personal travel expenses over four years (Dean Judi
Olian of UCLA), the administration has been living publicly subsidized lives. Furthermore, according to
documented findings from the UAW, the UC’s “upper-level administrative strata has grown 251%”
resulting in “1 billion dollars in extra costs”.
We have to stand up and fight back. The quality of a university is not measured by the wealth of
its administrators but by the quality of its students and professors. It’s that simple.
Since I’ve arrived at UCSD I’ve been actively participating with the union to better our lives. Before
that, I’ve worked and continue to work with the United Taxi Workers of San Diego trying to help
organize workers that are largely from immigrant backgrounds. I have strong friendships with proven
labor activists throughout the San Diego community, including in the Employee Rights Center and Unite
Here!. We can draw from their solidarity and their experience.
To secure a better life for ourselves the way our union operates on campus has to change. We
have to be transparent and begin to breed a culture of democratic participation. To do this, I propose
holding teach-ins and information sessions to keep everyone up to speed. We have to develop grassroots
structures that promote autonomy, diversity of tactics, and direct action. These three things have a
proven historical track record. We need to cut the top-down bureaucracy. We need better outreach. And
we to be organized and empower ourselves.
We have to work together. We have to begin to organize alongside undergraduates and
professors who are equally affected by the theft of the administration.
I believe in my abilities and those of my running mates in the POWER caucus to make a stronger
union.
Deborah Jane Seligsohn
I am running for Head Steward as part of the SWITCh (Student Workers for Inclusive Transparent
Change) slate. As a second year PhD student in the Political Science Department and a mother who has
worked in the "real world" before entering graduate school, I can see a number of ways in which the
Union can better serve graduate students, benefiting both graduate students and the University. The key
is to focus on bread and butter issues for graduate students - ensuring equal recognition and benefits for
TAs and GSRs, and addressing pay, healthcare, spousal and parenting issues - and communicating better
with the student body. The union needs both to stop involving itself in global political issues, where it
has no influence and divides the students it supposedly represents, and to better communicate with
students on what it has achieved and what it hopes to achieve. We shouldn't be asked to go on strike
unless we know exactly what is on the table, and there is a collective will of the student body to
participate for a recognized goal. The reality is that the University of California wants successful
graduate students who go out into the world and make a name for the University. The question is how to
ensure that we help them understand the tools we need to make that happen and the value of
compensating us fairly.
Raquel Pacheco
My name is Raquel Pacheco and I am running for head steward in the UAW 2865. I am a fifth year PhD
student in Anthropology and have worked all five years as a teaching assistant. Though for several years
I was a passive member of the UAW 2865, voting for the 3% raise a couple years ago because people
told me it was the best we could hope for, and never having gone to a monthly membership meeting, I
went through some experiences that changed my mind on this kind of passive unionism. This summer, I
worked as a TA in a program that was not paying me the hours I was putting in to provide quality
instruction. I approached my supervisor asking for compensation and after several exchanges with her
and her supervisor, they agreed to pay me for the hours I was working above the contract. While my
fellow TAs were also being underpaid, I went through this process alone, and alone received
compensation. Since then and in conversation with other TAs, I have realized that unless we fight back
as a collective, the university will continue underpaying its student workers. From that point on, I have
been participating actively in the union, attending monthly membership meetings, a bargaining session
in San Diego, and helping to organize this year’s strikes. My involvement is due in part to the sincere
outreach of a tireless group of UAW organizers, some of whom are running under this slate, who have
been involved in efforts to make the UAW 2865 more democratic, active, and inclusive.
As a head steward with the POWER caucus, I want to help broaden the membership body so that we can
be a stronger force in pushing the UC to approve our demands, denouncing by all means necessary the
UC’s refusal to negotiate on the 18 quarter limit, competitive wages, higher childcare subsidies,
packages for undocumented students, and gender neutral bathrooms. The POWER caucus wants to make
our union a force in the work of imagining and strategizing for a university that provides education and
research as a public good and in which undergrads, grad students, and faculty have priority in deciding
what our university should look like. This caucus embraces a diversity of tactics that only the union as a
collective will decide upon and that stresses our right to be imaginative, autonomous, and in solidarity
with other movements in various parts of the world. The POWER caucus also seeks to support the work
of the already present anti-oppression committee within the UAW to make our union cognizant and
critical of power dynamics along race, class, and gender. My own inspiration comes from INCITE!
Women of Color Collective and Mamas of Color Rising, who continuously develop organizing
strategies around their lives as women and communities of color. Taking from these organizations, I am
interested in working with others to make our monthly membership meetings family friendly and more
organically rooted within our busy lives.
Johnathan Abreu
My name is Johnathan Abreu and I'm running as Head Steward in the UAW 2865. I am a 2nd year
graduate student in the History Department and a TA, and I believe that the leadership of our campus
unit should come from those with direct experience working with students as teaching assistants as well
as other academic workers who understand the conditions and obstacles we face everyday. For me,
active participation in the union represents the possibility of social justice so often articulated but rarely
acted upon in academic circles as well as an avenue for improving the overall educational climate for
students.
As a member of the union for the past two years, I have participated in various strikes and actions and
have encouraged my colleagues to support union efforts. I believe that as a student-worker run
collective, there is strength in the reality that we come to the union with diverse backgrounds and levels
of experience in organizing. For this reason, I am excited by the possibility that newer members of the
union can participate in the leadership, devote time to innovative strategies for improving working
conditions, and make their voices and concerns (and ours) heard.
I look forward to engaging my fellow workers beyond monthly meetings and occasional e-mails. I hope
that through more outreach and direct involvement, with the People Organizing Workers for
Empowerment and Rights (POWER) caucus we can work collectively to envision and fight for antioppressive working conditions and horizontal leadership both within our union and the university
structure.
Cynthia Vazquez
I am a second year master’s student in Latin American Studies, and I am humbled to run for Head
Steward for our union UAW 2865. From a young age my family, all union members, inculcated in me
that workers’ rights is a necessity. I was brought up with two very proud union members, my mother and
my father. Both of my parents were not only union members they were also in leadership positions
within the union. My mother was a Shop Steward for more than five years, and proudly represented
workers during very difficult times. It is with great honor that I follow in her footsteps as a union
member. Social justice is not a word but a way of life. From my formative years to today, I have
committed myself to social change and justice in our society. Before becoming a UCSD graduate
student, I successfully increased the number of women representatives in the Nevada Legislature by
working on all facets of their campaign. Eventually our hard work paid off and in 2008 we changed the
body of politics in Nevada.
I continued organizing and moved from the streets to the classroom as a dropout prevention instructor.
While working as a dropout prevention instructor I was exposed to injustices most students’ experience.
Quality education is not readily available for all and through this program I realized there is a serious
problem: teachers are underpaid and overworked, and we are no different. As young professionals, we
are required to perform and execute quality work without compensation. As an experienced TA, I have
seen my colleagues work hard to deliver the world class education. In doing so we are overworked and
not compensated for the late night e-mail responses to meeting with our students outside of our office
hours. We do it because we care. We care for our students. We care our students receive the best
education they can while attending UCSD, but our efforts are undermined and undervalued by
administration. They see numbers and we see people.
If chosen to represent you I will continue working passionately and endlessly on union issues. Issues
that matter to us, such as:
1. Transparency;
2. Creating and maintaining stronger communication ties between community members and
representatives;
3. Collaborating with my fellow colleagues in delivering informational workshops; and
4. Disseminating information to all members.
Change can only occur when we come together as a collective and fight for quality education for all.
The POWER caucus and I will represent YOU and fight for all workers. It is simply not an option not to
do so.
Barbara Ann Bush
My name is Barbara Ann Bush and I am running for the position of head steward in the UC Student
Worker Union UAW, 2865. I am a 6th year PhD student in the department of Communication Studies.
In addition to academic work focused on social justice and immigrant’s rights, I have a history of both
organizing and working for the UAW. Three summers ago I was hired by UAW to organize post-docs
who conduct much of UCSD research but are afforded little protection from direct supervisors. I saw
graduate students subject to extraordinary work hours with little guarantee of breaks or time off, rights
normally protected by state laws. In fear of retaliation many would forego these rights. While not within
the scope of UAW 2865, this experience was educational as to how the union operates and the tactics
used for organizing. It became clear to me that the UAW lacked a cross sectional network with other
campus based workers rights’ organizations, as well as student trust. Finally, most of the people working
for the UAW were paid, as I was at the time, rather than being the volunteer driven worker’s
organization that it in fact needs to be.
As your head steward, a volunteer position, I will focus on building relationships with fellow UCSD
head stewards and a coalition of local union and workers’ rights activists. I pledge responsible
communications ensuring awareness of the issues under consideration by the union. I will also focus on
organizing vested in member involvement. What we lack at UCSD is responsive union leadership and a
general malaise that, I believe, stems from a feeling of disenfranchisement from union action. We too
often wait for directives from 2865 paid leadership rather than producing organizing they are responsible
for supporting. We need an educated and unified TA student base and a union accountable to its
constituency. Lacking this has resulted in a rudderless UAW. UCSD’s top administration and labor
outreach are far too powerful for us to be able to afford a lame duck union that is just as apt to work for
UCSD administration as it is for it’s union fee paying TA base. In the last ten years there has been a
stagnation of TA wages even as cost of living climbs, increasing class sizes and work loads, and more
recently the implementation of the 18 quarter rule. This simply cannot continue.
Recently I joined other fellow TA’s striking on campus and was reminded again of the importance of
united action. This strike was possible because of UCSD graduate students associated with the POWER
(People Organizing Workers for Empowerment and Rights) caucus pushing the UAW into action. I was
proud to see not only my fellow graduate students on the line, but also had other campus workers join us
in solidarity. In the spirit of transparency, local action and dignity for all workers, I am putting my name
forward with the POWER slate. I would be honored to have your vote.
No statement submitted: Chandler Miller, Mychal Matsemela-Ali Odom