Michael Burawoy

UC Berkeley faculty stood on the steps of Sproul Plaza, donned in faculty robes and carrying United Auto Workers, or UAW, union signs, looking out on a sea of striking academic workers. 

With the increase in social distancing measures and the shelter-in-place order, UC Berkeley researchers are working from home, halting lab experiments and working on projects related to COVID-19.

Pay Us More UCB, a group dedicated to achieving a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for campus graduate students, started a GoFundMe page Wednesday to raise money in support of COLA strikers.

“COLA 4 All,” “Solidarity with UCSC” and “Eat the Regents” were some of the phrases written on the signs present during a protest Feb. 21, which was staged in solidarity with the UC Santa Cruz graduate students on strike for a cost of living adjustment.

Contentious topics, such as compensation for unpaid work and job stability, are being discussed as UC lecturers renegotiate their contract with the university.

The forum was held at noon Monday in Barrows Hall and drew a crowd of more than 30 lecturers and other faculty members. It was headed by panelists Michael Burawoy, a tenured sociology professor, and Khalid Kadir, a campus lecturer.

Former chancellor Nicholas Dirks will be paid $434,000 by UC Berkeley through the next academic year, more than 80 percent of his pay as the campus’s former top administrator — even though Dirks will not return to teaching on campus until fall 2018.

The last four years have provided unique challenges to the chancellorship, from routine budget and funding issues to the campus’s changing political climate.

In light of state budget constraints and UC tuition hikes the Berkeley Faculty Association hosted a talk and panel discussion Wednesday to discuss the future of the public university system.

Robert Blauner, a professor emeritus in the sociology department noted for his prescient studies on race relations, died in his North Berkeley home Oct. 20 at the age of 87.