On a gray Valentine’s Day morning, students and staff joined the Cross-Union Solidarity Rally to march from the Cowell/Stevenson Dining Hall to the Quarry Plaza. Many donned red bandanas reading “UCSC Workers United” as they made their way to the quarry, where the crowd gathered to listen to speakers from various unions. 

“The UC does show the love but they only show it to top executives,— every time we go and bargain with them, they say they have no money,” said Nicolas Gutierrez of AFSCME 3299.

Nicolas Gutierrez from The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 addresses the students and workers gathered in Quarry Plaza.

The Cross-Union Solidarity Rally consisted of the following groups: The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, Santa Cruz Faculty Association (SCFA), Workers Student Solidarity Coalition (WSSC), University Professional and Technical Employees union (UPTE), UAW 2865, RAs for Change, Skilled Crafts (K-7) Union, and Librarians with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). 

The rally theme was “Where’s the Love, UCSC?,” using the Feb. 14 holiday to emphasize that workers deserve fair wages and respect from the administration. 

“It will take deliberate action to achieve practical solidarity and strategic unity among university workers and students, and that’s why we’re here today,” said Rebecca Gross of UAW 2865.

This was the first time these unions came together, expressing their shared needs for livable wages, lower rent, smaller class sizes, and safer workplaces. 

Sign that reads, “Love can’t pay the Rent!” displayed on the rock at the center of Quarry Plaza.

Many of the supporters and union members were protesting against UC Santa Cruz’s investment of billions of dollars into Blackstone and their announcement of budget cuts two days prior, on Feb. 12. According to UAW member and Politics PhD candidate Nate Edenhofer, this could lead to campus workers being laid off, with smaller numbers of staff working extra hours to compensate for the lack of employees.

Blackstone is an alternative investment management agency that works with institutional investors, dealing mainly with private equity, hedge funds, and real estate. Building upon its 15-year partnership with the company, the UC Regents’ Office of the Chief Investment Officer invested $4.5 billion into Blackstone’s real estate trust in 2023.

“The UC is making money off of Blackstone and at the same time the UC is the largest landlord in the state which is the problem,” said Edenhofer in an interview. “The university is talking about a $96 million budget deficit, and I think you could pay that budget deficit 46 times with what they invested in Blackstone.”

Students gathered in Quarry Plaza display a banner that reads, “Break up with Blackstone” in protest of where UC funding is being directed.

As K-7, the AFT Librarians, AFSCME 3299, and UPTE are currently bargaining, the possibility of a strike vote looms over negotiations. Their demands for higher wages directly conflict with the university’s goal to reduce expenses, which could affect university workers’ wages in the upcoming budget year.

“This [rally] is the first step towards building solidarity among all the unions and workers on campus,” Edenhofer said. “We can all show support for each other’s struggles so they know that if they go out on strike, the other unions will back them up.”

The unions took their issues and used them as the glue to bring each other together, rather than a catalyst to polarize them. 

“Will we be silent?” asked Amelia Cutten, a speaker from UPTE.

“No!” the crowd replied.

“Where’s the love, UCSC?” Cutten asked. “We demand respect for all and we will not be silenced.”