Stop the Cuts: Save Jobs and Education!
University of California Regents and President Michael Drake
In response to lobbying from students and union members from across the state, the Governor of California reduced his proposed budget cuts to the UC from 8% to 3%, or $270 million, for the 2025-26 school year. But UC campus leaders, who already budgeted for 8% reductions, are still moving forward with harsh austerity measures. Their budget cuts are disproportionately harming undergraduate writing and language instruction, where mostly lecturers teach essential skills for student success. Nearly 100 lecturers have already seen their appointments reduced or eliminated, and many more are bracing for further cuts over the summer.
Campus administrators are making unnecessary cuts that will harm undergraduate instruction, and that will undermine future goodwill from the Governor and state legislature. They have the ability to choose another path. That’s why UC-AFT and its supporters are calling on the UC Regents to compel campuses to change course, and to protect undergraduate education at UC before it's too late.
Add your name to below to tell the Regents: Stop the Cuts -- Save Jobs and Education!
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University of California Regents and President Michael Drake
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[Your Name]
Dear University of California Regents and President Drake,
We appeal to you to immediately halt UC Chancellors’ plans to unnecessarily cut hundreds of millions of dollars from their 2025-26 budgets.
In January, the Governor proposed an 8% cut to the UC’s general fund allocation, or roughly $397 million. Campus Chancellors then understandably developed budget plans for 2025-26 that anticipated that cut. But in response to lobbying from students, faculty, and staff, the Governor reduced his proposed cut by roughly $267 million, from 8% to 3%. But unfortunately, campuses are moving forward with painful budget cuts anyway, and seem to be planning to pocket hundreds of millions of unanticipated money from the state to increase their reserves!
Campus budget cuts have already resulted in the cancelling of hundreds of classes for 2025-26, the elimination of the teaching of some languages from campus curricula, and over 100 layoffs and reductions in time for instructors. If these cuts are not stopped, they will do lasting damage to the quality of undergraduate education at our universities.
In addition, because the Governor and state legislature increased funding for UC this year to prevent layoffs and course cancellations, moving forward with those cuts will harm UC’s reputation and its relationship with state politicians, and its ability to lobby for funding in the future. It is especially bad form to take money from the legislature during a year when the state is wrestling with a multi-billion dollar shortfall, make hundreds of millions of unnecessary cuts to instruction, and then give raises to policy staff, administration, and senate faculty.
We therefore urge you to rehire hundreds of instructors (both lecturers and academic student employees), and to honor your commitment to the UC’s mission of teaching, research, and public service.
UC can more than afford to undo these cuts. Its campuses have $6.5 billion invested in the Blue and Gold Endowment Pool, which the UC has called "An investment vehicle created in March 2019 that helps our campuses increase their revenues while reducing reliance on state funds." In addition, at its May meeting, the Regents chose to set aside $700 million that they normally would have contributed to UC retirement funds “to provide budgetary relief for campuses and medical centers.”
Your campus leaders are making a terrible mistake. We urge you to fix it before it’s too late.
Thank you for your consideration,