United Auto Workers Local 4811 (UAW 4811) is a labor union local representing roughly 48,000 non-faculty academic employees at the University of California’s (UC) 11 campuses.  ¹ It is a local union of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and affiliated with the AFL-CIO. ¹

UAW 4811 publicly celebrates its role in advancing left-of-center social and political causes at the University of California, and in setting precedents for other unions in areas such as unionizing previously undefined classes of employees and forcing an employer to recognize expansive “rights” for its members, such as a right to affordable public transportation.  ¹

History and Background

United Auto Workers Local 4811 is a labor union representing graduate assistants, student researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and other non-faculty academic employees in the University of California system.  ¹ As of 2026, it claimed that its membership rolls included roughly 36,000 academic student employees, 7,000 postdoctoral researchers, and 5,000 academic researchers. ¹

UAW 4811 was formed in 2024 from the merger of two United Auto Workers union locals representing students in the UC system who were employed in academic roles.  ¹ The first student employee union local at UC was UAW Local 2865, which was formed in 2000 to represent graduate students employed as teaching assistants, research assistants, and other similar positions.  ¹

In 2010, UAW Local 5810 was formed as the first union in the United States for postdoctoral researchers, who had previously not been considered employees eligible for collective bargaining.  ² At the time, the roughly 6,000 postdoctoral researchers in the University of California system represented approximately one tenth of all ‘postdocs’ in the United States. ² A previous attempt to create such a union had failed in 2006. ³

In 2024, Local 2865 and Local 5810 merged to form UAW Local 4811.  ¹

2026 Contract Negotiations

In 2025 and 2026, UAW Local 4811 negotiated a new contract with the University of California system. ^{4  5} In addition to compensation and other workplace issues, the union’s initial bargaining statement included an array of other demands such as the expansion of UC’s “sanctuary” policy protecting illegal immigrants, “mandatory, worker-led, anti-harassment training,” “affordable, quality housing,” “free regional and campus-run public transit,” “access to essential healthcare services including gender-affirming care, birth control, and abortion,” the disclosure of UC’s entire investment portfolio, the elimination of both lethal and less-than-lethal weapons from the campus police force, and prohibitions against campus police coordinating with other police forces. ⁶

Anti-Israel Activism and Allegations of Antisemitism

UAW Local 4811 participates in pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activism and has been accused of antisemitism and discrimination against Jewish and Israeli members.  ^{7  8  9}

2024 Strike Over Palestinian Encampment Clearance

In May 2024, university police officers cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In response, UAW Local 4811 filed an unfair labor practices charge against the university, alleging that university police officers using force against UAW 4811 members participating in the encampment was a violation of labor law. ⁷ UAW 4811’s members also voted to strike across all UC campuses in response to the use of force allegations, which led to the largest-ever strike of higher education employees in the country.  ⁷

UC filed suit against UAW 4811 for breach of contract and a state judge issued a restraining order against the union, forcing its members back to work. ¹⁰

Support for BDS Movement

UAW Local 4811 is affiliated with the radical-left Labor for Palestine coalition and supports the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.  ⁹ In April 2024, UAW 4811 predecessor union Local 2865’s members passed a resolution calling for “a labor strategy for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions at the University of California.” ⁹

Later that month, the University of California’s chancellors reiterated that the UC system would not implement BDS policies, as “a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.” ¹¹

Alleged Discrimination Against Israeli and Jewish Members

In January 2025, University of California, Berkeley postdoctoral researcher and UAW Local 4811 member Karin Yaniv filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against UAW 4811, charging that it had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act by creating a hostile environment for Jewish union members and restricting them from full participation in union activities. ⁸ Yaniv’s lawsuit made a number of allegations against UAW 4811, its leadership, and its members, including excluding Jewish members from participation in committees related to advocacy for BDS policies.  ⁸

In September 2025, Yaniv accused the union of pervasive antisemitism and hostility to Israelis in testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. ¹² Yaniv characterized UAW 4811’s actions as, “what I can only describe as a totalitarian effort to purge Jews and Israelis from Berkeley’s academic life.”  ¹²

Yaniv told Congress that in a union meeting, UAW 4811 members “openly ridiculed” another Israeli member of the union whose family members were kidnapped by the terrorist group Hamas in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.  ¹²

Yaniv also pointed to a report titled “Who Rules the University of California?” produced by Local 4811’s BDS Exploratory Committee.  ¹³ The report detailed businesses, foundations, or individuals with governance responsibilities or notable financial ties to UC, with special attention paid to Jews or entities with Jewish ties.  ¹³  “[W]e can build a list of private foundations known to support Zionist causes and search for any evidence that they contribute to UC Berkeley,” the report’s authors claimed, while noting they were unable to compile “a complete list of Zionist donors to UC Berkeley.” ¹³

“The union is not asking for across-the-board transparency,” Yaniv told Congress. “Its answer to ‘Who rules the University of California’ is straightforward: the Jews.”  ¹²

1. “About.” UAW 4811. Accessed March 23, 2026. https://www.uaw4811.org/about.
2. Tuna, Carl. “Postdoctoral Researchers in California Ratify Labor Deal.” The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2010. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703723504575425590474045262.
3. Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit. “UC Postdoc Union Fizzles.” Science, November 2, 2006. https://www.science.org/content/article/uc-postdoc-union-fizzles.
4. Lippincott |, Cam. “UAW Members Ratify Contracts with UC, Bringing End to Threat of Large-Scale Strike.” Daily Cal, March 21, 2026. https://www.dailycal.org/news/uc/uaw-members-ratify-contracts-with-uc-bringing-end-to-threat-of-large-scale-strike/article_59908f03-331f-4bf2-b177-b2b8e686dabe.html.
5. Adam Abumughaiseeb, Staff Writer. “UAW 4811 Rallies for Fair Contract Negotiations, Threatens Strike.” The UCSD Guardian, November 24, 2025. https://ucsdguardian.org/2025/11/24/uaw-4811-rallies-for-fair-contract-negotiations-threatens-strike/.
6. “Initial Bargaining Demands.” UAW 4811. Accessed March 23, 2026. https://www.uaw4811.org/initial-bargaining-demands-1.
7. Royer, Matthew. “United Auto Workers Local 4811 Announces Strike Authorization Vote.” Daily Bruin, May 6, 2024. https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/06/united-auto-workers-local-4811-announces-strike-authorization-vote.
8. “KARIN YANIV, Plaintiff, v. LOCAL 4811, INTERNATIONAL UNION, UNITED AUTOMOBILE, AEROSPACE, AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT WORKERS OF AMERICA, Defendant.” UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION, January 24, 2025. https://www.fairnesscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Yaniv-ECF-1-Complaint-Exs.-01.24.25.pdf.
9. “Resolution to Implement a Labor Strategy for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions at the University of California (UAW 4811 Campus Units at Berkeley/LBNL).” Labor for Palestine, April 4, 2024. https://laborforpalestine.net/2024/04/03/resolution-to-implement-a-labor-strategy-for-boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-at-the-university-of-california-uaw-4811-campus-units-at-berkeley-lbnl/.
10. Raniwala, Ria. “UAW Strike Formally Ends after Agreement with University.” Daily Cal | Berkeley news, June 28, 2024. https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/administration/uaw-strike-formally-ends-after-agreement-with-university/article_992d3244-350b-11ef-9993-631eb6370dcf.html.
11. “University of California Statement on Divestment.” University of California, April 26, 2024. https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-statement-divestment.
12. Yaniv, Karin. “Testimony of Karin Yaniv University of California at Berkeley.” U.S. House of Representatives, September 9, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118573/documents/HHRG-119-ED02-20250909-SD003.pdf.
13. “Who Rules the UC?” Report by the BDS Exploratory Committee of UAW 4811, November 2024. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-6ElQ_yAAXaDA7arZTqvXOQJWOTd-1gDDBPxMnwWT2c/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ey00uk8i7b7e.