Eleven years, three different UCs, countless hours of work — that’s how much time and commitment Alison Mills, a UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral researcher in biology, has devoted to research and labor in the UC system. 

But at the beginning of this month, the National Institute of Health (NIH) funding that supported most of her work was terminated.

“My work and life has been thrown into chaos by the recent funding cuts,” said Mills to a crowd of more than 150 people. “This program, like many other NIH grants, provided funding for critical research to find cures for debilitating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, diseases that affect millions of Americans.”

Mills is not alone. Since early February, hundreds of researchers’ funding has been terminated after the Trump administration enacted cuts to NIH grants across the U.S..

In protest, UCSC researchers, staff, union workers and students organized a rally and marched from the Jack Baskin Engineering Building toward the Science and Engineering Library. Attendees held homemade signs, many adorned with messages condemning the Trump administration. 

A chant filled the courtyard: 

“Kill the Cuts!”

These words echoed through universities nationwide at the “Kill the Cuts, Save Lives” rallies. The national movement was organized and promoted by labor unions across the nation such as American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. 

All 10 UCs participated in the rally, where UAW 4811 — the unit representing UC academic workers — union leaders organized to advocate for their academic researchers, and rallied in protest of federal budget cuts to science research. The protest also addressed the ongoing university budget crisis and nationwide student visa revocations. 

“These cuts are not just for us,” said Mills in an interview with City on a Hill Press. “If we shut down these programs now, we’re going to lose out on years and years of research for healthcare.” 

Alison Mills, a UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral researcher in biology, addresses a crowd gathered in the Jack Baskin Engineering Courtyard.

NIH Cuts and Legal Back and Forth

On Feb. 10 the Trump administration declared that it would cap indirect funding to NIH grants at 15 percent, affecting nearly every research university across the U.S.. Indirect costs are used to fund laboratory facilities, heat, electricity, and even the staff needed to ensure safe standards and quality to the work.  

Typically, research institutions have negotiated for roughly 30 percent of these costs to be reimbursed by the NIH. Capping these reimbursements would leave a significant gap that would need to be paid by the institution receiving the grant. Without the NIH covering these costs to the degree they were before, many researchers would likely not be able to continue their work.

In response to the announcement, the Association of American Universities (AAU) that represents research universities across the nation took legal action, asking for a preliminary injunction which would temporarily postpone the effects of the cuts. On Mar. 5, the preliminary injunction was granted by a federal judge.

A month later, the AAU was granted a permanent injunction, preventing the NIH from capping indirect funding and requiring the government to continue funding indirect costs at previously negotiated rates.

Despite this blockage of the indirect funding cap, many other grants are still in jeopardy. The administration still has the ability to cut and permit that “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities,” according to Trump’s Office of Management and Budget. On April 8, the Trump Administration filed a motion of appeal to the permanent injunctions in  the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

“Continuity is extremely important in scientific research,” said Isabel Kain, a graduate researcher in the astronomy and astrophysics department. “If I can’t train the next generation of scientists, we lose knowledge, sometimes permanently.”

Building a United Front 

A blue and gold flyer titled “Build a Bridge to a Better Budget” was distributed at the event, detailing an action plan for the university to counteract the effects of federal funding cuts. 

It called for the administration to create an emergency bridge fund for international scholars. As of April 16, at least 158 international students have had their visas revoked across the UCs, three of whom are UCSC students.

“One thing we know is that money reflects priorities,” said Kain in a speech at the rally. “These cuts reflect the contempt that the Trump administration has for science and research, just like how their mass visa revocations and deportations reflect their contempt for international and undocumented workers.”

A table set up by organizers with signs and stickers for participants to carry during the rally.

The flyer also mentioned the $111 million budget deficit UCSC is currently facing, stating that this deficit — in combination with nationwide funding cuts and threats to international and undocumented workers — is alarming, and calls the UC to defend higher education.

“Higher education is under attack by the federal government,” said Gwyn Vandevere, an undergraduate advisor in the linguistics department. “UCSC is already dealing with its own budget crisis and hiring freeze … any reduction in staffing will inevitably affect the services we are able to offer to our students.” 

“We must stand together to demand the funding that California students deserve,” she said.

This kind of organization is not unfamiliar to UAW workers. During the first Trump administration, UAW protested ICE directives to deport international students during the COVID-19 pandemic. After submitting a formal declaration, they successfully overturned the policy.

Meg Kan, a staff worker at the Center for Advocacy, Resources, and Empowerment center and a member of SSAP-UAW, Student Services & Advising Professionals, explained how the UAW has fought against oppressive Trump initiatives before, and can again.

“My hope is that folks continue staying connected with their unions. These kinds of actions work when we’re all coordinated and communicating with one another,” they said. “A lot of energy and solidarity will keep [this] moving forward. This won’t be the last that you see of these organizers.”

Additional reporting by Eva Stuewe.