This post was updated Nov. 2 at 11:29 p.m.

About 70 members of United Auto Workers Local 4811 rallied outside of Royce Hall on Wednesday afternoon to demand that the UC protect international workers. 

The union began the rally around noon, with multiple leaders speaking in support of a petition outlining its demands for international workers that has at least 10,000 signatories and was delivered to UC administrators and campus leaders earlier in the day. UAW Local 4811 represents academic student employees, graduate student researchers, student services and advising professionals, postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers – which amounts to 48,000 workers. 

The petition calls on the UC to establish a legal defense fund for people who experience changes to their immigration status – including visa revocations – that provide financial support to those facing immigration-related loss of employment and “take all available measures” to restore the immigration status of those who are impacted. The union also asked for the UC to prevent federal immigration agents from accessing campus without a warrant and asked the University to publicly reaffirm its commitment to free speech and academic freedom. 

The Trump administration revoked the visas of at least 19 UCLA students and alumni in April, as well as the visas of students at other UC campuses. However, the U.S. Department of Justice announced later that month that it would restore the visas of international students while it developed a “framework for status record termination.”

[Related: Trump administration revokes visas of multiple UCLA, UC students]

Academic student workers and graduate student researchers’ contract with the UC will expire Jan. 1, 2026, and the union is currently in negotiations for a new contract. The previous contract was agreed upon in 2022 after thousands of academic workers struck across the UC for six weeks – the largest labor stoppage in the country since 2019 – which prevented class attendance and canceled exams. 

The previous contract outlined pay increases up to 80% from before 2022, increased childcare benefits and included remission for three years of nonresident tuition for international student workers.

[Related: UC academic workers walk out in largest US strike since 2019]

Anny Viloria Winnett, the unit chair for UCLA’s chapter of UAW Local 4811, said representatives of the union from every campus across the UC are delivering the petition and its signatures to their respective chancellors today and tomorrow. 

She added that the union compiled the demands this summer in response to attacks on international students from the Trump administration. 

“We think it’s time for them to let us know how they’re going to take action to meet those demands,” said Viloria Winnett, a doctoral student in the Fielding School of Public Health.

UCLA Media Relations did not respond in time for a request to comment on whether the rally violated UCLA’s Time, Place and Manner policies, which bar rallies from occurring in Dickson Plaza without prior approval. A spokesperson also did not respond in time to a request for comment on whether Chancellor Julio Frenk received the union’s petition and if he plans to act on the demands it outlines.

Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, did not respond to a request for comment on the UC-wide rallies or if the UC plans to act on the demands made by the petition, but said in an emailed statement that the UC is in negotiations with UAW Local 4811 and is aware of the union’s immigration-focused demands.

“We look forward to negotiating a fair contract,” Holbrook said in the emailed statement. “UC’s international students enrich our research, teaching, patient care, and public service endeavors. They are integral to our academic and civic life and vital to breakthroughs that have benefited California and the nation.”

Holbrook added in the emailed statement that the University recognizes that much of the UC community is concerned about immigration enforcement action, adding that the UC recently issued guidance and created resources for international students and employees such as an FAQ on their website, know your rights cards and a statement of principles in support of undocumented members in the UC community. 

UCLA international workers and union leaders gave testimonies and unrolled a scroll with a list of the petition signatories. They held signs that read “We are proud union researchers” and “UC What’s Your Plan?” translated into different languages. 

Noura, an organizer for UAW at UCLA who was granted partial anonymity for fear of retaliation, said she believes the union has put a lot of energy in its ongoing negotiations with the UC, which is “not wanting to move on this issue at all.”

“We’re pressuring the UC to commit to protecting us, not just through statements or emails, but through actual action, which entails bargaining over this,” said Noura, a graduate student worker. “Whether we’re international students or we’re domestic students, we’re all here together to point to an issue that’s been facing a lot of our members today.” 

Noura added that, as an international student on a visa, she feels unsafe and fears potential changes to her immigration status, especially following the Trump administration’s student visa revocations in April.

“I was scared for my friends, and I was scared for myself,” she said. “I was wondering if I would be next, especially as someone who participates in our union – which is a safeguarded right.”

Ashvi Jain, a doctoral student in bioengineering, said during the rally that she is afraid her visa will not be renewed next year, adding that she lives in uncertainty, knowing that immigration policy can change at any moment and end her ability to research in the U.S.

“We don’t have access to lawyers, reliable help when visa or travel issues arise. If something happens at immigration, there is no emergency contact to call,” Jain said. “Guaranteed funding and legal protections aren’t privileges, they are guidelines that allow us to focus on research and teaching.”  

Jain added that international student workers contribute to the UC’s world-class teaching and research missions but still have to worry about whether they can stay and continue their education.

“That’s why it is so important for UC to take a clear stand and lead with compassion,” she said.

The rally ended at about 12:40 p.m., with demonstrators announcing an upcoming Nov. 20 rally in conjunction with UAW Local 4811’s units representing student services and advising professionals, as well as research and public service professionals. The rally will fall on the same day as the final day of the UC Board of Regents’ November meeting at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center.

Viloria Winnett added that she thinks UCLA’s undergraduate student body can also relate to the union’s struggles, as undergraduate international students and workers are also impacted by the current treatment of international students.

“We’re a really powerful voice on our campus, and we have the power to make movement and to pressure the UC,” Noura said. “The UC knows that, which is why they’re stalling and they’re not engaging with us, but it’s really important for us to come together in large numbers like this and make sure that the UC knows that this is an important demand for us.”

Contributing reports from Leydi Cris Cobo Cordon, Daily Bruin senior staff.