Los Angeles, California - University of California student workers have authorized a labor strike over violent responses to on-campus Palestine solidarity protests.

United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811, which represents the student workers at all 11 University of California campuses, announced Wednesday that around 79% of the 19,780 members who participated in the vote favored green lighting a strike.

The student workers are demanding protections for free speech rights as well as amnesty for all those arrested during militarized crackdowns on solidarity demonstrations held amid Israel's siege of Gaza.

They are also calling for divestment from weapons manufacturers and other companies benefitting from the Gaza assault and a publicly accessible database of all the universities' funding sources and investments.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for October 2, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away

Nationally, the UAW is among the major labor unions which have endorsed a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Organizers of the university work stoppage are planning to employ the successful Stand Up strategy the UAW used to win huge contract concessions from Detroit's "Big Three" carmakers last year. If the walkout goes into effect, UAW Local 4811's executive board would direct each campus when to stand up and stand down as the strike progresses.

Although the student workers' union contract contains a no-strike clause, withholding labor is still permitted when members' safety is at risk, as was the case when administrators deployed law enforcement to quell peaceful protests.

The University of California strike is expected to last no longer than June 30.