This is what solidarity looks like. This is what union power feels like.
Yesterday afternoon, UCLA agreed to renew UCLA Postdoc Sandra Koch’s appointment. We received the news as hundreds of Postdocs, Academic Researchers, Academic Student Workers and other community members prepared to march on Murphy Hall (the UCLA admin building). Instead of a protest, the march became a celebration!
This victory is truly a testament to the bravery that Sandra displayed over the last two years in fighting for her right to continue her research career, and to the power of mass collective action. In just the last three days, over 3,000 people signed our petition to UCLA Chancellor Block, and hundreds were ready to stage a sit-in at the UCLA administrative office to demonstrate that we would not allow Sandra to be pushed out of academia.
To echo Sandra’s words at the rally, we hope that this will encourage more members of the academic community who are facing discrimination to understand and exercise the collective power we have as a union to stand up for our rights and see justice done.