Unionized graduate students who work at University of California campuses and graduate student workers at the University of Southern California are threatening Thursday to walk off their jobs in response to escalating tensions surrounding proPalestinian protests at schools.

The unionized members who work at UC campuses, including UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC San Diego, voted to authorize leadership to call a strike on Wednesday. Teaching and research assistants who are also graduate students at the universities are members of the union.

Graduate students who work in similar capacities at USC filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees labor matters involving privatesector employers in response to treatment of protesters on campus.

United Auto Workers Local 4811 represents thousands of UC graduate student workers and reported that 79% of the union members approved the strike authorization.

UAW Local 4811 is asking the UC schools to give amnesty to all academic employees and students who face arrest or disciplinary actions for protesting. The union wants the students to have guarantees of freedom of speech and political expression on campus and is asking for researchers to be able to opt out of funding sources tied to the Israeli Defense Force.

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