A single layoff makes a campus-wide impact—UPTE stands by laid-off UCI colleague
On Tuesday, July 8, labor leaders and community allies rallied outside the School of Social Ecology to demand that UC Irvine administrators stop cutting the very people who keep classrooms, laboratories, and clinics running, as this hurts everyone—students, faculty, and the broader public alike.
UC’s public mission is to educate the next generation, drive groundbreaking research, and serve our communities. When UC shows the last remaining help-desk technician in the School of Social Ecology the door, that mission grinds to a halt:
Students lose a lifeline. Without prompt tech support, laptops remain unconfigured and vital software goes uninstalled, threatening first-week instruction and derailing senior capstone projects.
Faculty research stalls. Broken lab computers delay grant-funded experiments and slow the discoveries that improve our communities’ health, environment, and economy.
Community partnerships suffer. Agencies that depend on timely data analysis and research collaborations can’t proceed when equipment sits idle.
Security risks multiply. Devices piled up in an unsecured office violate UC information-security standards, putting sensitive data at risk.
“I wasn’t just the help desk–I was the only person students, staff, and faculty in the School of Social Ecology could turn to for basic tech support. Now there’s no one. Equipment is sitting idle and emails are going unanswered,” said John Salinas, a Business Technical Support Analyst 2 and the recently laid-off IT worker at UC Irvine. “As faculty, staff, and academic advisors prepare for the upcoming fall quarter, they’re left without the essential support they need. UC talks a lot about innovation and research, but how are we supposed to do any of that when they cut the people who keep things running?”
We urge UPTE members and allies to stay engaged. Sign our petition demanding the reinstatement of John Salinas and all eliminated IT roles. When we stand together for the people who make UC work, we protect the promise of accessible, world-class public education for everyone.
Also, make sure to share our video recap of our rally on social media.
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Local leaders and allies joined UPTE members and allies to demand an immediate reversal of the layoffs. Their message was clear: our public university must invest in the workers who make education and research possible.
The UC Irvine cut follows more than 400 layoffs announced at UCSF Health and UC San Diego Health over the last several weeks. Across the system, UC’s cost-cutting threatens patient care, research excellence, and educational quality—public goods that belong to all Californians.
We call on UC Irvine—and the entire UC system—to restore these critical positions, recommit to adequate staffing, and uphold the common good. Students, faculty, patients, and communities cannot thrive when support staff are treated as expendable line items.
