Berkeley

UC Berkeley Agrees to Insource Subcontracted Custodians and Parking Attendants

Published

11 years ago

March 26, 2016

More than six weeks after a calling for a boycott on guest speakers at UC Berkeley, the university’s largest employee union, AFSCME 3299, and university have reached an agreement that will mean that 100 subcontracted custodians and parking attendants will be offered direct employment with the university within the next 30 days.

As a result, the speaker’s boycott has been lifted, and a planned April 1 picket at a planned Clinton Global Initiative University event on the Berkeley campus has been cancelled.

“This agreement is an important first step that also ends the exploitation of our colleagues at UC Berkeley, provides proven professionals to help the campus meet its permanent staffing needs, and reduces the drain on California’s taxpayer subsidized social safety net by pulling nearly a hundred families out of poverty,” said AFSCME 3299 President Kathryn Lybarger.

“We are deeply grateful to the many state and local elected officials, UC faculty, students, and civic leaders who stood up against our first class public university’s efforts to treat some of its workers as second class,” she said.

The agreement comes after more than a year of campaigning by workers employed by three different UC Berkeley contractors (Performance First, ABM, Laz Parking) facing widespread allegations of state and federal labor law violations, two recent State Labor Board complaints against the University of California over its use and treatment of subcontracted workers, and a recent study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center documenting the hardships faced by these types of workers across California.

The workers affected by the agreement already have more than 440 years of combined experience working at UC Berkeley, but because they’ve been employed by low wage contractors, have received only a fraction of the wages of directly employed UC Workers who do the same jobs.

Among those who honored the speaker’s boycott by cancelling or postponing planned engagements at UC Berkeley were Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senators Carol Liu and Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond, National Domestic Workers Alliance Director Ai-Jen Poo, GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis, NO on H8 Campaign Founder Adam Bouska, and human rights activist Angela Davis. The Berkeley City Council and Associated Students of UC Berkeley also passed resolutions in support of the boycott.

In acknowledging the accord at UC Berkeley, Local 3299 President Kathryn Lybarger also highlighted the fact that exploitation of subcontracted workers by firms with checkered legal histories continues at other campuses across the UC system.

“With an agreement to end the boycott and provide direct employment to the dedicated subcontracted workers at Berkeley, the University of California has finally acknowledged that its use of low wage contractors had nothing to do with meeting ‘temporary or seasonal’ staffing needs,” Lybarger added. “That’s why we will continue to fight UC’s reliance on private contractors for its permanent staffing needs across the UC system. Nothing could be more at odds with the public mission of our state’s third largest employer than awarding multi-million dollar contracts to companies that profit from growing the ranks of California’s Medicaid-reliant working poor.”

Last year, a measure to guarantee equal pay for subcontracted workers (SB 376, Lara) doing the same jobs as directly employed UC workers passed the legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Brown after a fierce, UC led lobbying campaign against the measure.

Lara has reintroduced the bill during the current legislative session (SB 959), adding language that delays implementation until after UC has fully implemented its new system-wide minimum wage in 2018, as well as prohibitions against awarding contracts to companies with a history of labor law violations. SB 959 is supported both by AFSCME Local 3299 and the UC Student Association (UCSA).

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Activism

Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders

Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.

Published

3 months ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy image.

By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post

For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.

Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.

The results speak for themselves.

Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.

Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.

BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.

We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.

As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.

We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.

BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.

The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.

The next great artist may already be among us.

The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.

We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.

For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com

Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.

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Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

4 months ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

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Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.