University of California lecturers reach tentative agreement; strike called off

BERKELEY, Calif. - A two-day strike by University of California lecturers and picket lines at nine UC campuses across the state was called off early Wednesday morning, just hours before employees were set to walk off the job.

In an early morning statement, the University Council AFT, the union representing about 7,000 lecturers, said "we have a tentative agreement," adding that they had won "transformative and groundbreaking improvements in crucial areas" including job stability, workload and compensation.

They also said that UC bargained in good faith. Classes are expected to proceed as normal on Wednesday and Thursday.  

The tentative agreement reached in the 11th hour comes after the lecturers claimed UC management had been using unfair labor practices. In the last 10 days, the union representing UC teachers says it has filed two new unfair labor practice charges over UC's refusal to participate in good faith in the statutory impasse procedures and bargain over paid family leave. 

Those two charges are in addition to the five filed over the last 20 months.  

 MORE: Thousands of lecturers across 9 UC campuses plan 2-day strike

In a statement from UC before the strike was called off,  the office of the president says it was disappointed in the union’s decision to strike, saying "withholding instruction is grossly unfair to our students" and "the union’s unfair labor practice claims against UC are neither supported by the facts nor any finding by the California Public Employment Relations Board."