Professors across the state have accused the University of California system of conducting a sweeping campaign to suppress pro-Palestinian speech and protests in violation of state labor law.
The Council of the University of California Faculty Association said UC administrators have threatened faculty for teaching about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and initiated disciplinary proceedings against faculty for supporting student camps on campus, as well as for supporting a terrorist attack. Student Academic Staff Strike This spring.
Faculty group made these allegations 581 page complaint Filed Thursday with California’s Public Employment Relations Board, which oversees labor-management interactions for public employees in the state, the unfair labor practice allegation was co-signed by faculty unions at seven UC campuses, including Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco.
faculty member gathered at UCLA on Thursday afternoon to announce the charge. At the news conference, Constance Penley, president of the UC Faculty Association’s Council, described the university’s actions as “a relentless campaign to stifle faculty’s exercise of their academic freedom and prevent them from teaching about the war in a way that does not align with the university’s position.”
The filing alleges that faculty have also been investigated for pro-Palestinian social media posts, arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and subjected to surveillance and intimidation by university representatives.
This pressure from faculty highlights that even months after police cleared out pro-Palestinian camps at universities, the effect continues to be felt on various campuses, where university officials are enforcing it. new protest rules And Students are struggling The suspension and ban remain on his record.
The faculty’s claims build on an earlier charge filed by the UCLA Faculty Union following attacks and mass arrests suffered by students and faculty who attended an encampment on campus in April and May. And they parallel similar allegations leveled by unions representing UC employees, including United Auto Workers Local 481, which represents student academic staff, and the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents 6,500 librarians and teaching faculty across the university system.
The multiple charges, filed with the state labor board earlier this year, primarily allege that the university failed to maintain safe working conditions, disregarded its employees’ free speech rights, and illegally changed working conditions in response to campus protests.
The university defended its actions. In response to a request for comment, UC spokeswoman Heather Hansen pointed to a statement the university previously filed with the state labor board in response to the UCLA Faculty Association’s allegation.
The university said that while it “supports free expression and legitimate protest,” it must also ensure that “all members of its community can continue to study, work and exercise their rights safely, which is why it has policies that regulate the time, place and manner of protest activities on its campuses.”
“The university has permitted — and continues to permit — lawful protest activity surrounding the conflict in the Middle East. But when protests violate university policy or threaten the safety and security of others, the university has taken lawful action to prevent inappropriate and unlawful behavior,” the university said.
The filing details instances in which the university allegedly investigated and disciplined professors.
Shortly after the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the start of Israel’s bombing of Gaza, the university began sending emails to faculty threatening that they could be investigated and disciplined for teaching material outside the scope of their courses. In November, UC San Diego investigated two lecturers for teaching about the history of the Palestinian territories, the filing said. A faculty member at UC Irvine was sent a “warning letter” by the administration for voting on whether or not to hold a class at an on-campus camp with optional attendance.
In another example, a medical school lecturer at UC San Francisco who gave a lecture about trauma-informed care at a health equity conference in April was barred from participating in future educational activities after she devoted about six minutes of a 50-minute course to discussing a topic related to the health challenges of Palestinians. A campus administrator informed the lecturer that they had received complaints that her speech was “biased and anti-Semitic,” and removed an online video of the lecture. The ban was eventually lifted, but the video is still offline.
The complaint states that the university’s “harsh actions against professors who express pro-Palestinian viewpoints stand in stark contrast to its treatment of outspoken pro-Israel faculty.”
The university declined to launch a formal disciplinary investigation against a pro-Israel faculty member at UC Irvine accused of harassing and physically threatening a graduate student, even though video footage was made available of the faculty member “cornering, physically intimidating, and questioning a frightened student,” the filing said.
After an unfair labor practice charge is filed, the Public Employee Relations Board will review and evaluate the case, and decide whether Dismiss the charge or proceed through settlement negotiations between the parties. If no settlement is reached, the case will be scheduled for a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.
