A Breakthrough in the University of California Labor Dispute
A Breakthrough in the University of California Labor Dispute
By Richard Schmalensee
In February 2012, the University of California and its employees agreed to a new contract that guaranteed a raise for the third year in a row. They agreed to take pay cuts so as to reduce the amount they had to use each year to pay their salaries. A few months later, the University President rejected an arbitrator’s ruling that the contract lacked sufficient guarantees to guarantee the University would have adequate funds to support its operations. In the weeks that followed, the University filed a lawsuit to enforce the contract, arguing that the arbitrator exceeded his authority in the process.
That case was in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and it was the first time the University of San Diego’s teachers have had an opportunity to be represented by attorney Kenji Yoshino. In it he argued that the University had entered into a contract with its employees — not the university — and that since the contract was with the employees’ employer and not the university, it could not be bound. As such, the University is entitled to “the full range of remedies available” under the Labor Code, he argued. The University eventually won that argument, and in June 2014, following a hearing, the judge ruled that it had effectively entered into a contract with the employees and were entitled to its protections. This case marks the first time that a court has ruled on whether or not a private company can be a member of a union.
I sat down with Yoshino in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to discuss the University’s victory, which he says changed the course of his professional life.
Wired: What was the legal issue in the case?
Yoshino: The University sought to terminate its contract for its failure to meet its obligation to maintain a minimum level of funding, which is part of the UC Regents charter, that is required of the University’s governing boards. That’s what the University of San Diego is doing by not maintaining the fund as required. They said it’s not a
