Worker Solidarity Action Network

4 days ago

The U.S. government is going after a Michigan labor union over its Palestine activism

mondoweiss.net/2026/09/the-u-s-government-is-going-after-a-michigan-labor-union-over-its-palestin…

The U.S. government is going after a Michigan labor union over its Palestine activism
The U.S. government is criminalizing a campus labor union at the University of Michigan for supporting Palestine. We are calling on fellow labor organizers to resist this dangerous act of repression
BY ADI SALEEM AND YARDEN AZOULAY KATZ SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 1
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“The Gaza solidarity encampment at the University of Michigan, which was violently disbanded by UM police in May 2024. Photo by TAHRIR Coalition.”
“THE GAZA SOLIDARITY ENCAMPMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, WHICH WAS VIOLENTLY DISBANDED BY UM POLICE IN MAY 2024. PHOTO BY TAHRIR COALITION.”
On June 10, 2026, the FBI raided the homes of activists involved in Palestine solidarity activism at the University of Michigan (UM), who are now known as the “Michigan 8.” In a show of force, federal agents in military gear broke through the door of a home in Ypsilanti, MI, to arrest a couple of individuals. That day, the FBI also arrested individuals connected to UM Palestine activism in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Justice Department indicted these activists on wildly exaggerated “conspiracy” charges. They could face decades in prison.

The government is now targeting a pro-Palestinian campus labor union involved in defending the Michigan 8.

Last month, August 2026, the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), which represents over 4,000 UM graduate student workers, was served a subpoena signed by the Justice Department’s attorney on the Michigan 8 case. This came shortly after UM and a local prosecutor tried – but failed – to bring down GEO’s President using baseless “embezzlement” charges. The August subpoena requests extensive information about GEO, including a list of current and former members, meeting minutes, and financial records, dating back to 2023.

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This is a clear criminalization of ordinary labor organizing. It’s also a “fishing expedition” that is meant to help the government’s case against Palestine solidarity activists.

The developments in Michigan closely follow those in Minnesota, where certain anti-ICE organizers (the “Minnesota 15”) were also indicted on “conspiracy” charges in June 2026, and where federal agents had spied on unions and used a subpoena to obtain union financial records.

The federal government understands that our struggles are connected. It’s time all labor unions realize it too, and refuse to separate Palestine solidarity or migrant justice organizing from labor organizing.

Criminalizing a pro-Palestinian labor union by targeting its president

The University of Michigan has been working with the local and federal governments to attack GEO. In recent years, GEO, which is Local 3550 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), has won concessions. In April 2023, it went on the longest strike in the University’s history, which resulted in better pay and health care for graduate workers. And while big labor unions have historically been on the side of U.S. imperialism (AFT’s current President Randi Weingarten is a staunch Zionist), some union locals, such as GEO, have embraced Palestine solidarity.

Recognizing this emerging alliance between labor and Palestine solidarity organizing, the University turned to the legal system to criminalize the union. This past summer, they went after GEO’s President, Hiab Teshome, an MD-PhD student at UM.

Hiab Teshome, President of GEO and an MD-PhD student at the University of Michigan. (Photo courtesy of GEO Communications Team)
HIAB TESHOME, PRESIDENT OF GEO AND AN MD-PHD STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. (PHOTO COURTESY OF GEO COMMUNICATIONS TEAM)
On June 15, 2026, just five days after the FBI raids on the Michigan 8, Detective Sergeant Ryan Cavanaugh of the University of Michigan Police Department called Teshome on her personal phone to say there was a warrant for her arrest and that she would soon be charged with “embezzlement” and “false pretenses.” According to Teshome, he said he wanted to talk about the logistics of her turning herself in to the police. Cavanaugh is well-known to the campus Palestine solidarity movement: he has pepper-sprayed some protesters in the past, allegedly tackled others, and also attended the September 9, 2026, court hearing for the Michigan 8, where we saw him speaking with the U.S. government attorneys. Organizers, including Teshome, also report that Cavanaugh has a history of harassing them. In February and April of 2026, Cavanaugh had called Teshome to tell her she was being investigated for “embezzlement,” but without giving specifics. Teshome says she referred Cavanaugh to her lawyer, but he failed to respond to her lawyer’s calls. Instead, he continued to call, text, and email Teshome directly, and even visited her former residence, believing it was her current home.

Detective Sergeant Ryan Cavanaugh of the University of Michigan Police Department being honored as “Veteran of the Game” in a Michigan basketball game, November 2019. Cavanaugh, who receives a salary of $103,334, is described in University reports as a “Master Trainer in Threat Assessment and Management,” a certificate given by the Department of Homeland Security. He served in the US Army for 23 years, including in Egypt, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Cuba. (Photo: University of Michigan Division of Public Safety & Security)
DETECTIVE SERGEANT RYAN CAVANAUGH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN POLICE DEPARTMENT BEING HONORED AS “VETERAN OF THE GAME” IN A MICHIGAN BASKETBALL GAME, NOVEMBER 2019. CAVANAUGH, WHO RECEIVES A SALARY OF $103,334, IS DESCRIBED IN UNIVERSITY REPORTS AS A “MASTER TRAINER IN THREAT ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT,” A CERTIFICATE GIVEN BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. HE SERVED IN THE US ARMY FOR 23 YEARS, INCLUDING IN EGYPT, GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, AND CUBA. (PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DIVISION OF PUBLIC SAFETY & SECURITY)
It turned out that the “embezzlement” charges concerned purchases made by a student group in which Teshome was the designated co-signer. UM claimed the purchases weren’t properly accounted for – yet Teshome did not make these purchases herself and was no longer involved in the group. She was implicated simply by being a co-signer, on paper.

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Rather than try to resolve this bureaucratic matter internally with its own students, UM took the unprecedented step of turning to the local county prosecutor, Eli Savit (who calls himself a “progressive prosecutor” and is currently running for Michigan Attorney General). Using the narrative and information provided by Cavanaugh, Savit then pressed felony charges against Teshome for embezzlement and false pretenses.

Detective Sergeant Ryan Cavanaugh of the University of Michigan Police Department (on left) pepper spraying the crowd outside the UM Museum of Art on May 3, 2024. The crowd had gathered to call on the UM Regents, some of whom were inside the museum for an event, to divest from Israel. Four protestors were detained, arrested, and given trespass warnings in that protest. (Photo: TAHRIR Coalition)
DETECTIVE SERGEANT RYAN CAVANAUGH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN POLICE DEPARTMENT (ON LEFT) PEPPER-SPRAYING THE CROWD OUTSIDE THE UM MUSEUM OF ART ON MAY 3, 2024. THE CROWD HAD GATHERED TO CALL ON THE UM REGENTS, SOME OF WHOM WERE INSIDE THE MUSEUM FOR AN EVENT, TO DIVEST FROM ISRAEL. FOUR PROTESTORS WERE DETAINED, ARRESTED, AND GIVEN TRESPASS WARNINGS DURING THAT PROTEST. (PHOTO: TAHRIR COALITION)
At Teshome’s arraignment on June 26, 2026, an Ann Arbor judge noted that the University had requested that Teshome be banned from campus as part of the bond conditions. Such a ban would have prevented Teshome from participating in the union’s bargaining with the University. The judge refused that request, but instead banned Teshome from the University’s administration building and specifically noted she must stay away from the UM Regents. The Regents, who set the University’s major policies, have been targeted by campus activists with calls to divest from Israel. This bond condition shows that the attack on Teshome was also meant to stifle such divestment campaigns.

In response, many showed solidarity with Teshome. An open letter in support of Teshome was signed by hundreds of individuals and several organizations, including the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) and the Huron Valley DSA. Yet conspicuously absent from the signatories was Michigan’s labor union establishment, which did not seem to grasp the political significance of the attack on a union president. This is the same labor establishment that had failed to heed a call by Palestinian trade unions, following October 7, 2023, to disrupt the entities enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Nonetheless, the grassroots prevailed. On August 6 2026, activists and community members packed the court for Teshome’s probable cause conference. The judge, Cedric Simpson, dismissed the charges within minutes. The court, Simpson said, “is certainly not getting involved in that.”

Criminalizing the whole union

After the effort to bring down Teshome failed, the next target became the union as a whole.

The federal government served a grand jury subpoena, dated August 6: the day that the charges against Teshome were dismissed by the court. The subpoena – signed by the Justice Department Attorney Maggie Smith from the Michigan 8 case and by Detroit office FBI agent Kara Phipps – asks for the following information, dating back to January 1, 2023:

“1. Collective bargaining agreements;
2. Constitution and By-laws;
3. All disbursement records and receipts journals pertaining to union officials;
4. All union employee personnel records, to include all payroll records, W-2 Forms, W-4 Forms, 1099’s, etc;
5. All associated membership agreements;
6. Listing of all active and former union members;
7. Complete listing of all officers and executive board members, to include position.
8. All minutes of membership meetings and Executive Board meetings” [emphasis added].
“The University of Michigan and the federal government are attacking our union and the broader labor and Palestine solidarity movement because we are powerful and because we are challenging the University’s material investments in genocide,” said GEO President Hiab Teshome. GEO’s lawyers are currently attempting to get the subpoena quashed on the grounds that it is too broad in scope and violates the union members’ rights to free speech.

GRAND JURY SUBPOENA SERVED TO THE GRADUATE EMPLOYEES’ ORGANIZATION (GEO), AFT LOCAL 3550, MARKED AUGUST 6, 2026. THE SUBPOENA WAS SIGNED BY MARGARET (“MAGGIE”) SMITH, ONE OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S ATTORNEYS ON THE MICHIGAN 8 CASE, AND DETROIT OFFICE FBI AGENT KARA PHIPPS. THE GOVERNMENT BOTCHED THE DELIVERY OF THE SUBPOENA, INITIALLY SENDING IT VIA FEDEX RATHER THAN SERVING IT IN PERSON. IT WAS THEN SERVED ON AUGUST 26, 2026.
The attacks on this Michigan labor union closely parallel the federal government’s tactics against the anti-ICE movement in Minnesota, following the January 2026 murders of Alex Pretti and Renée Good by ICE agents. As part of their investigation into “domestic terrorist financing,” federal agents used subpoenas to obtain several years’ worth of wire transfers made by the Service Employees International Union, which largely represents health care workers. The individuals who so far have been singled out by the government, the Minnesota 15, may now face decades in prison, just like the Michigan 8.

“What is happening to our labor union and other unions across the country is extreme acts of workplace repression by our employer collaborating with the state and the federal government to weaken labor organizing and violate our right to collective action,” Teshome noted.

The major labor unions can no longer keep pretending like workers’ struggles can be separated from Palestine solidarity or from the struggle against ICE and policing. No one should stay neutral on this moving train.

Ways to support the Michigan 8 and Minnesota 15

Donate to the Michigan 8 legal fund and visit defendmichigan8.org
Donate to the Minnesota 15 legal fund and visit minnesota15.org … See MoreSee Less

We Defend the Minnesota 15 Defendants | Minnesota 15

minnesota15.org

On Tuesday, June 16, the federal government arrested fifteen of the tens of thousands of people who took a stand against ICE terror in Minnesota.

Worker Solidarity Action Network

6 days ago

Electronic shelf labels likely to cost jobs and drive up grocery prices, US report warns
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/09/electronic-shelf-labels-grocery
AFL-CIO calls for ban on such labels to protect consumers and workers from surveillance pricing and job cuts
Michael Sainato
Wed 9 Sep 2026 07.00 EDT

The universal adoption of electronic shelf labels in grocery stores across the US could cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost wages while further driving up grocery costs, according to a report released on Tuesday.

An analysis by the AFL-CIO Tech Institute of the label manufacturers’ own marketing materials found the universal adoption of electronic shelf labels, which are marketed to retailers as a cost-cutting measure, could cost workers between $1.6bn and $6.9bn in lost wages annually and affect between 44,223 and 191,633 jobs.

The policy brief – Priced Out, Pushed Out: Electronic Shelf Labels Raise Prices and Shrink Paychecks – calls for a ban on electronic labels to protect consumers and workers.

Manufacturers have hailed the labels as a way to collect huge amounts of personal data from customers, increase profits and cut labor costs.

The report argues that electronic shelf labels use the same pricing systems that allow dynamic pricing – price changes such as increasing allergy medication prices when pollen counts are high – to surveillance pricing, changing prices based on personal data.

These technologies are being implemented across the US retail industry at a time when food prices have surpassed inflation and wage gains, increasing 33% over the past seven years.

“Through our analysis, we found that the implementation of electronic shelf labels are likely going to drive prices even higher. The reason being that these labels are connected to the same algorithmic pricing software that online retailers are already using,” said Sunny Glottmann, policy and programs managers at the AFL-CIO Tech Institute and co-author of the report.

“Electronic shelf labels create the infrastructure that would make rapid algorithmic price changes easier to implement at scale, and this raises concerns for consumers that are already struggling with grocery costs.”

The report comes as several states have begun introducing legislation to ban surveillance pricing and electronic shelf labels. In April, Maryland became the first state in the US to ban surveillance pricing. Connecticut signed a ban into law in June and New Jersey signed a ban into law in July.

Electronic shelf labels “enable instantaneous price changes”, said Lauren McFerran, executive director of the AFL-CIO Tech Institute and former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

“This is a technology that both is enabling this kind of ‘how do we extract the absolute most money out of grocery shoppers that is humanly possible’ and ‘how do we squeeze our workers as much as is humanly possible’,” said McFerran.

A May poll released by the United Food and Commercial Workers union found 68% of Americans believe surveillance pricing will increase grocery costs and 65% say digital price tags will do the same. About 67% support banning digital price tags and surveillance pricing, with only 26% opposing a ban.

Ademola Oyefeso, vice-president of UFCW International, said that as retailers are implementing electronic shelf labels, the labor cuts occur gradually, with workers who typically change prices on shelves losing work hours.

“Slowly, if someone has a full-time job or a part-time job, they go from full-time to part-time, from part-time to no time, and that’s what’s going to start happening across the entire industry,” said Oyefeso. “We have gone with paper labels for over 100 years. It’s worked. It’s the trust stores have built with people. I know [that] you and I are paying the same price.

“If we come there on Monday, you and I are going to pay the same price on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday.”

Oyefeso said workers were also consumers, and that electronic shelf labels allow price changes to occur multiple times a day.

In December, Instacart ended a pilot program practice that allowed retailers to charge online shoppers different prices for the same products after an investigation by Consumer Reports and Groundwork Collaborative found grocery prices could differ by as much as 23% between customers.

“ESLs are the embodiment of surge pricing and surveillance pricing,” Oyefeso said. “Shelf labels allow grocery shopping to become airline ticket shopping.” … See MoreSee Less

Electronic shelf labels likely to cost jobs and drive up grocery prices, US report warns

www.theguardian.com

AFL-CIO calls for ban on such labels to protect consumers and workers from surveillance pricing and job cuts

Worker Solidarity Action Network

6 days ago

Rare workers’ comp mental illness win for Japanese at U.S military base
www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16875309
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
September 9, 2026 at 17:38 JST

The main gate of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Photo_Illutration.jpeg
In a rare decision, a man who said he developed a mental illness because of a supervisor’s harassment at a U.S. military base in western Japan was awarded workers’ compensation, sources said.

Legal experts said it is difficult for labor offices to recognize harassment as a work-related injury inside a U.S. military base because of the limited access to such facilities.

The military bases are under American jurisdiction, and Japanese authorities cannot enter them without U.S. permission under Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

The man in his 50s and his lawyer said he was employed as a maintenance worker by what was formerly PAE Design & Facility Management, a U.S.-affiliated contractor responsible for maintaining facilities at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Hired in August 2021, the man was later assigned to maintain crane equipment at the base in February 2022. He said he was required to supervise high-altitude work despite lacking the safety certification required under U.S. military regulations.

In January 2023, the employee was accused of infecting his supervisor with COVID-19. The supervisor then sent a message saying: “I will resent you for the rest of my life. I will never forgive you.”

About a week later, the employee attended a meeting with five PAE executives over his work attitude and conduct.

He said he was pressured to resign and told, “There is nowhere for us to place you.”

The man said he later developed anxiety and heart palpitations, was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and took medical leave.

PAPER TRAIL

The man recorded conversations with the supervisor and preserved messages documenting the dispute.

The Iwakuni Labor Standards Inspection Office found that the man had been forced to perform duties without required qualifications and that messages from the supervisor improperly attacked his dignity and character.

The office concluded in March this year that his adjustment disorder was work-related and approved workers’ compensation benefits.

The man said he had expected a U.S.-affiliated company to place greater emphasis on human rights.

“An inappropriate situation was allowed to continue, but I am glad workers’ compensation was recognized,” he said.

His lawyer, Shinsuke Tani of the Osaka Bar Association, said the records preserved by the employee likely contributed to the decision.

The company, now known as Amentum Design & Facility Management, declined to comment on the case.

JUSTICE OUT OF REACH

The man alleges his troubles continued after he took leave.

In June 2023, he went to the base to return to work, but an American supervisor at the prime contractor demanded that he surrender his base access pass.

When he refused, he was allegedly assaulted by the supervisor, including having his arm grabbed, and suffered injuries that took about a week to heal.

He said U.S. military police who arrived at the scene handcuffed him, removed him from the base and confiscated his access pass.

Two weeks later, he was dismissed.

In June 2024, he filed a criminal complaint with the Iwakuni branch of the Yamaguchi District Public Prosecutors Office, accusing the supervisor of assault causing injury.

Prosecutors ultimately decided not to indict.

The supervisor was classified as a civilian employee accompanying the U.S. military, and prosecutors said Japan lacked jurisdiction because U.S. military authorities had already imposed disciplinary punishment under the Status of Forces Agreement.

Tani said the case highlighted limits on Japan’s ability to pursue accountability in incidents involving U.S. military bases.

“Even though the incident occurred in Japan, the involvement of a U.S. military base prevented Japan from fully pursuing accountability,” he said.

Kibihiko Haruta, a law professor at Kumamoto Gakuen University who specializes in labor issues at U.S. military bases, said it is difficult for Japanese authorities to determine what happens inside these installations.

“There are likely cases in which people suffer in silence, so it is highly significant that workers’ compensation was recognized,” Haruta said.

(This article was written by Minami Endo, Takashi Endo and Ko Sendo.) … See MoreSee Less

Rare workers’ comp win for Japanese at U.S military base | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

In a rare decision, a man who said he developed a mental illness because of a supervisor’s harassment at a U.S. military base in western Japan was awarded workers’ compensation, sources said.

Worker Solidarity Action Network

2 weeks ago

UCLA disciplined a pro-Palestinian protester behind closed doors. Now he’s suing
www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-08-31/ucla-pro-palestinian-protest-discipline-lawsuit
Pro-Palestinian protesters at the UCLA campus on May 1, 2024.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at the UCLA campus on May 1, 2024. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Jaweed Kaleem staff headshot at LA Times Photo Studio in El Segundo, CA on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
By Jaweed Kaleem
Staff Writer

Aug. 31, 2026 3 AM PT

A UCLA student is suing the UC system after a nearly two-year disciplinary process over pro-Palestinian protests in which he was suspended and his degree was withheld.
Nearly all his conduct charges were dismissed, the suit says, even as the student faced a lengthy campus ban.
The lawsuit offers a rare window into campus discipline at UCLA.
In a prolonged case that offers a rare look into the fiercely private student discipline process, a UCLA computer science doctoral student is suing the University of California, asking a judge to reverse his two-quarter suspension and release a master’s degree withheld for more than 600 days.

The case centers on one of the most volatile chapters in UCLA history — the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests that racked the university, culminating in a violent spring attack at a campus encampment. The demonstrations helped fuel a relentless Trump administration campaign against UCLA and other elite universities over their handling of antisemitism allegations.

The campus turmoil divided UCLA and the nation. Protesters demanded UC divest from companies tied to the Israeli military’s war in Gaza. Some Jewish students and faculty called the demonstrations antisemitic, though others joined them.

Dylan Kupsh, 27, emerged as a vocal UCLA protester and an outlier in the campus movement. He did not mask his identity at rallies and has gone public about the discipline against him, while hundreds of others in similar proceedings have stayed anonymous.

He filed the civil lawsuit last week in Los Angeles Superior Court against the UC Board of Regents, two UCLA student conduct administrators and a UCLA police captain. Los Angeles-area civil rights lawyers and attorneys from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee represent him.

The suit alleges viewpoint discrimination and due process violations, including a lack of meaningful notice of cases against him.

A UCLA spokesperson said the university “will respond to this lawsuit as appropriate in court.”

The university, like campuses nationwide, is barred by federal privacy law from discussing individual discipline cases or internal deliberations, even when a student goes public.

A person poses in front of a brick building.
Dylan Kupsh, 27, is suing the University of California over a student conduct discipline process at UCLA. He is shown at Royce Hall on campus. (Gary Coronado / For The Times)
How the case unfolded
Kupsh’s case grew out of the protests that followed UCLA’s spring 2024 encampment — which some pro-Israel Jewish students alleged blocked them from part of the campus. That claim was cited in a civil rights case that cost UC $6.45 million in a settlement and set the stage for a Justice Department lawsuit. Kupsh’s charges stem not from the encampment itself but from a year of smaller protests that came after it.

He originally faced 14 campus citations — issued between August 2024 and June 2025 — for blocking pathways, disrupting campus and defying orders at five demonstrations from June 2024 to May 2025, the suit said. The charges were later amended twice, most recently in April 2026.

The allegations are university conduct violations, not crimes. Kupsh was arrested at a June 2024 demonstration but never criminally charged. Campus police still urged the university to act, the suit said.

In a May 2025 email, UCLA police Capt. Jeff Chobanian told Steve Lurie, UCLA’s chief safety officer, that Kupsh was “a known organizer and public face” of the suspended Students for Justice in Palestine, and urged “firm and immediate action,” the suit said. Within half an hour, Lurie forwarded the email to two student conduct administrators, saying, “perhaps Jeff’s narrative can help us make a determination on an interim suspension.”

Chobanian and Lurie declined to comment about the suit to The Times. Bryan Murotake, a defendant and former UCLA assistant dean of students who signed charging notices against Kupsh, did not respond to a request for comment.

The university issued an interim suspension in June 2025, barring Kupsh from campus for 291 days as the disciplinary process proceeded, the lawsuit said. The ban lifted in March 2026.

Beyond emails included in the suit, the court documents do not show how UCLA weighed its decision.

The lawsuit alleges Kupsh was not told what evidence the university had against him before it imposed interim suspension. Under university policy, a student can be barred from campus once a conduct case is open, without any finding that the student broke the rules.

On the day the interim suspension took effect, UCLA filed new citations from a May 2025 protest alleging obstruction, disorderly conduct and failure to follow orders, the suit said. Kupsh, who taught a class online, was allowed on campus Monday afternoons for lab meetings.

“I felt like half my life was basically ripped off,” Kupsh told The Times. “I was not even able to visit my next-door neighbor, who lives on university property.”

Student conduct proceedings unfold behind closed doors, and college campuses typically decide cases on a “more likely than not” standard — a far lower bar than criminal proceedings. Three-member UCLA panels of faculty, staff and students heard Kupsh’s cases.

Over five hearings between June 2025 and May 2026, panels dismissed all but two of the citations, the suit said. UCLA had shown Kupsh was present at most of the demonstrations, they ruled, but not that he organized them, gave orders or blocked access.

The university did find him responsible for violations at two separate protests, one for not showing his student ID to authorities and another for failing to move out of a walking student’s path. An appeal of a June finding was denied July 31.

A pro-Israel demonstrator at UCLA in 2024.

In the lawsuit, Kupsh acknowledges attending most of the demonstrations but denies being a ringleader, blocking anyone from campus walkways or refusing orders.

“He was disciplined for what he believes, not what he did,” Thomas B. Harvey, one of the lawyers representing Kupsh, alleged in an interview with The Times.

The two-quarter suspension runs through Dec. 11, 2026, barring him from classes, teaching duties and pay, the suit said. His master’s degree in computer science, submitted for conferral in December 2024, remains unawarded.

Under UCLA policy, he cannot resume his doctorate when the suspension lifts. Kupsh must apply for readmission.

The suit alleges his punishment threatens a doctorate seven years in the making and two quarters from completion. It values his lost pay at more than $17,000. He is seeking unspecified damages, including punitive damages against two administrators and the police captain, and attorney fees.

Campus discipline by the numbers
Last year, city and county prosecutors declined to charge all but two of the nearly 350 people arrested at UCLA and USC pro-Palestinian protests. UC reported more than 400 protest-related internal discipline cases from spring 2024 alone.

A May 2025 UC systemwide review of hundreds of spring 2024 cases found those reaching a hearing took 225 days on average — three times as long as those settled without one. The longest, at UCLA, ran 361 days.

Overall, UC campuses issued 14,231 sanctions in 2023-24 — most unrelated to protests. Suspensions accounted for 3%. They were reserved, the review said, for the most serious cases such as violence and repeated drug offenses. Interim suspensions, imposed before any hearing, numbered 131 systemwide.

Most students received milder penalties — warnings, probation or requirements to attend counseling or workshops, which together made up 93% of sanctions.

Two years later, the demonstrations have largely disappeared from UC amid strict enforcement of campus protest rules.

Protest-related pressure continues
UCLA has faced some of the Trump administration’s toughest sanctions on any university: a $584-million funding freeze a federal judge later lifted, a $1.2-billion settlement demand the university refused and multiple Justice Departmentantisemitism investigations and lawsuits growing out of the protests.

Some faculty have praised the university for not settling. Others say it has cracked down on free speech to fend off further federal action.

Several Jewish community or faculty groups say UCLA has not gone far enough to discourage anti-Israel protests. The AMCHA Initiative argues that UC campuses, including UCLA, have been too lenient with pro-Palestinian activists. The nonprofit tracks anti-Jewish bias on college campuses. Kupsh and pro-Palestinian activists have rejected the antisemitism charge.

Judge dismisses suit over alleged Harvard antisemitism. What it could mean for UC cases

The UCLA Jewish Faculty Resilience Group has complained that the university has unevenly enforced rules, such as those against masking and blocking walkways, and must “hold those that break them accountable.”

Members of the UCLA Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Racism and Faculty for Justice in Palestine accuse leaders of using the discipline process to quash pro-Palestinian voices. This year, 148 Jewish faculty signed an open letter critical of “insinuation and misdirection” that painted student activists as antisemitic. The professors expressed fear of UC responding to government actions over protests with “draconian limits on academic freedom and free speech.”

Kupsh said he sued because he had run out of options.

“I do want to attain a PhD, and UCLA is trying to take that away from me,” he said. … See MoreSee Less

UCLA disciplined a pro-Palestinian protester behind closed doors. Now he's suing

www.latimes.com

UCLA PhD student Dylan Kupsh, who was a pro-Palestinian campus protester, is suing UC over its student discipline process. The lawsuit alleges viewpoint discrimination and due process violations. UCLA…

Worker Solidarity Action Network

3 weeks ago

Petition To Urge SEIU California to endorse Tax Billionaires Now Initiative
The Issue
www.change.org/p/urge-seiu-california-to-endorse-tax-billionaires-now-initiative-prop-40?utm_sour…
As we look towards an uncertain future, it's crucial to acknowledge the impending crisis that threatens to devastate public health funding in California and all the USA. I am a member of SEIU, and like many of my fellow union members, I am deeply concerned about the impacts of the Federal government's HR1, the "Big Beautiful Bill" designed to enrich the wealthy at the expense of those who rely on Medi-Cal. These cuts, slated to start in January 2027, will force state and local governments to divert funds from all public services, affecting millions who depend on mediating care for survival.
The Tax Billionaires Now Initiative, Proposition 40, offers us a tangible solution. By taxing billionaires, who have garnered unparalleled wealth, we can secure vital funding for Medi-Cal. Without this initiative’s endorsement and success, we face the grim reality of severe shortages in medical services, adversely affecting not just members of SEIU, but all Californians who rely on essential health services.
The looming financial crater from HR1’s unjust policies will not exempt any SEIU member organization. It is imperative that SEIU California uses its influence to advocate for equitable economic policies that ensure the rich contribute their fair share. By endorsing Prop 40, SEIU California would stand up for its members and all state residents by fighting to preserve the essential services that keep our society healthy and functioning.
The stakes have never been higher. We must act now to protect our communities from the calamitous cuts set to take effect in just a few months. Your voice has power: by urging SEIU California to take a stand with Prop 40, you help protect Californians from these impending threats to our public health system.
SEIU-UHW has already stood up for all SEIU members and all Californians by bringing Prop 40 to the November ballot. By spending more than $33 million, SEIU-UHW has been looking out for all SEIU California members and public services. Without Prop 40, all public services by the State and local governments will be forced to cut back to back-fill the catastrophic cuts to Medi-Cal because of the size of Trump's 2025 HR1 Medicaid cuts. All public sector services and funding will be affected by this $20 billion per year federal hit.
Gov. Newsom has no plan to bridge the shortfall, forcing local governments to try to makeup much of the shortfall. And Newsom refuses to back single payer. Even the California Democratic Party has rebelled and has endorsed Prop 40.
Join me in demanding SEIU California's endorsement of this critical initiative. Let us send a clear message that protecting public services starts with fair taxation. Sign this petition to urge SEIU California to endorse the Tax Billionaires Now Initiative, Prop 40. Together, we can ensure a fair funding future for health services in our state. … See MoreSee Less

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Urge SEIU California to endorse Tax Billionaires Now Initiative, Prop 40