The UC Board of Regents heard public comment from community members calling on the University to raise staff wages and take stronger action against campus antisemitism last week.

The board held its bimonthly meeting March 18 to Thursday at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. Students, faculty and community members shared opinions regarding UC funding, wages and campus initiatives during the public comment sessions of the meeting.

According to the meeting agenda, attendees were prohibited from wearing masks or face coverings inside the meeting room, except for transparent masks provided at the entrance.

Valeria Montoya Ramirez, a UCLA alumnus and vice president of creative production for the UCLA Staff Assembly Executive Board, said non-union represented staff play a crucial role in the UC’s daily operations and long-term success, but her wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living.

Ramirez asked the regents to approve a salary increase for policy-covered employees, adding that fair wages would allow staff to “thrive and remain dedicated to UC success.”

Jacob Creer, a clinical equipment specialist at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, also called on the regents to raise staff pay to match the cost of living. He said that the UC was founded on principles of equity, integrity and public service but said those values have been “broken time and time again.”

Creer, a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 – which represents patient care, service and skilled craft workers across the UC – added that there is a disparity in wage increases between UC chancellors and frontline employees. He said some custodians are forced to sleep in their cars, groundworkers wear shoes with holes in them and health care staff face persistent overwork and underpayment.

“It’s time for UC to practice what it preaches – not with words, not with slogans, but with action,” Creer said.

[Related: Long commutes, short-staffed – ‘We want to live,’ union leaders demand from UC]

Monica Martinez, who has been a clinical partner at UCLA for 24 yearsand a member of AFSCME Local 3299, echoed concerns about staff wages, adding that many frontline workers juggle multiple jobs to afford rent and groceries.

“How much more tone-deaf do you need to be?” Martinez said. “We are struggling here. UC’s current salary does not cover my bills.”

Michael Avant, president of AFSCME Local 3299, said that with rising health care costs, one of the union’s members now pays over $150 for a medication that previously cost $20. He added that these increases are devastating for those already living paycheck to paycheck.

“We deserve to be valued; we deserve to be respected,” Avant said. “Give us a fair contract now.”

Following the meeting’s Wednesday session, people wearing shirts branded with the AFSCME Local 3299 logo stood up and chanted slogans including, “Shame, shame, shame on UC,” “UC’s greed has got to go” and “UC, step off it, put workers over profit.” After more than five minutes of chanting, the meeting was declared an unlawful assembly and around 20 police in riot gear entered and lined the room – the group voluntarily exited shortly after.

[Related: UPTE-CWA 9119, AFSCME Local 3299 announce third strike in over 4 months across UC]

Community members also urged the regents to take further action against antisemitism on UC campuses.

Deborah Termeie, a lecturer at the UCLA School of Dentistry and member of UCLA’s Jewish Faculty Resilience Group, commended Chancellor JulioFrenk for his commitment to suspending Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA, calling their actions “lawless.”

Michelle Zeidler, a physician at UCLA Health and member of JFrg, echoed Termeie’s statements, adding that she appreciates Frenk for announcing a new Initiative to Combat Antisemitism.

She urged the regents to “stand firm” in their stance against antisemitism, adding that calling out incidents of antisemitism has often been misrepresented as an attempt to suppress free speech rather than a call for fair treatment of those facing harassment and threats.

[Related: Chancellor Julio Frenk announces plan for new Initiative to Combat Antisemitism]

David Nimmer, a professor from practice at UCLA School of Law and member of JFrg, said that while he passionately supports free speech, students should be able to express their identities without facing harassment. He added that the first Palestine solidarity encampment did not uphold this standard and instead “degenerated into mob rule.”

Nimmer said he looks forward to seeing the impact of the new antisemitism initiative and hopes it will help restore an environment where a full range of viewpoints can be exchanged. The initiative aims to implement recommendations from a previous task force on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.

Kira Stein, an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, as well as the chair and founder of JFrg, urged the regents to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. She said she believes this definition does not prohibit criticism of Israel but helps differentiate between legitimate, evidence-based critiques of Israel and rhetoric that demonizes the Jewish state and people.

Terry Wohlberg, a clinical faculty member at the School of Medicine and JFrg member, also said she views Frenk’s Initiative to Combat Antisemitism as a vital step forward.

“Faculty and staff stakeholders in the Jewish community are hopeful that this will result in enforcement of existing rules and regulations, including TPM (Time, Place and Manner), that will make UCLA a welcoming space and place for Jews once again.”

Other community members raised concerns about the UC’s financial ties to Israel.

Hannah Bruhns, a UCSB alumnus and incoming UCLA law student, said she believes the UC’s investments in weaponry contradict its stated mission of serving society and advancing knowledge.

“Divestment is not a radical demand,” Bruhns said. “It is the only path forward. The students are watching, the world is watching, history is watching.”