This post was updated Feb. 6 at 10:28 p.m.

Staff research associates at the UCLA Olympic Analytical Lab protested Wednesday against alleged wage theft and unfair labor practices. 

The SRAs were originally promised to receive raises in 2023 and have allegedly been denied over $500,000 collectively, according to signs from the protest and a document obtained by the Daily Bruin. Associates gathered in the building at 1:30 p.m. and held signs saying “Pay your employees now” and “It has been 563 days.”

The OAL helps enforce antidoping standards for many notable athletic agencies, including the United States Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, according to UCLA Health.

Elise Parsaee, an SRA II, said the associates were marching outside the office of Ellie Ahrens, the OAL’s lab director, to call attention to the fact that they have not been given the raises they were promised. She added that lab employees attempted to gain the raises through the appropriate channels, including speaking to labor relations at UCLA’s human resources department, but were denied multiple times. 

Around 20 SRAs knocked on Ahrens’ door at 1:43 p.m., when Parsaee gave a speech. Parsaee alleged in her speech that Ahrens had violated California labor law by dealing directly with employees. Parsaee added that Ahrens continued to endanger employees by demanding the SRAs to work during the Los Angeles County fires when the lab was covered in ash.  

Parsaee also alleged in the speech that Ahrens had withheld necessary information from employees, attempted to remove people from their union and ignored repeated requests to communicate, including a previous demand letter and article. 

[Related: Los Angeles County fires]

During the speech, protesters chanted the word “ignored” and repeated Parsaee’s demands. 

“To all that you have put us through, you have not bothered to look us in the eyes and explain,” Parsaee said in her speech. “Where are our wages?” 

However, Ahrens said in a response to Parsaee’s speech that the actions the protesters took were inappropriate, and she is not responsible for communicating directly with associates regarding wages. 

“I am not personally empowered to make any of those discussions myself,” Ahrens said in the response. “You’re treating me unfairly, and I understand your concerns for your own well-being, but you’re absolutely not being fair to me.”

Most of the associates immediately returned to work after the action. Parsaee said she believes that none of the lab’s work had been delayed or ignored throughout both the fight for wages and the LA fires. 

Elaine Osorio, an SRA II, said she feels the protesters were fair in their demands and that their lab director was not. She added that she feels employees do not receive a fair share of the money the university makes from their work. 

“The rent, groceries and all that stuff – it’s not even livable anymore,” Osorio said. “It’s not right, and we do more work for them.”  

Parsaee said managers had attempted to remove workers’ vacation time based on their attendance at union meetings. She added that managers had taken note of which employees were speaking out, and supervisors attempted to intimidate workers by aggressively banging on boxes in the office.  

“Two of our coworkers had to step out of the room because they felt so anxious when that happened.” Parsaee said, “I don’t think that’s normal.”

Emma Stackpole, the lab worker chair for the UCLA chapter of the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America Local 9119, said she believed that official channels for employee complaints are designed to malfunction and slow down the process in many science departments. 

Stackpole, who is an SRA III at another UCLA lab, said lab workers were planning to work together to solve labor law and Title IX violations across multiple UC lab locations and that their unity would enable them to address issues they couldn’t independently. 

“We’re talking to each other, and that’s the university’s worst nightmare,” Stackpole added. “We will not stop here.” 

A UCLA Health spokesperson did not respond in time to Daily Bruin’s request for comment on the protests or the allegations.