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A judge in California has ordered thousands of University of California workers to pause their strike over the Israel-Hamas war.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall J. Sherman issued a temporary restraining order on Friday. This decision came just days after the University of California (UC) filed a lawsuit against UAW 4811, a union representing 48,000 academic and graduate workers. UC claimed that the ongoing strike would cause “irreparable harm” to the university system.

Lawyers for UC accused the union of breaching contracts and jeopardizing research in university laboratories. In response, lawyers for the union argued that the university was avoiding “accountability” for its actions. Despite the judge’s ruling, UAW 4811 stated that their “struggle” is ongoing, asserting that “the law is on our side and we’re prepared to keep defending our rights.”

Melissa Matella, associate vice president for labor relations for the University of California, expressed relief over the pause, stating, “We are extremely grateful for a pause in this strike so our students can complete their academic studies. The strike would have caused irreversible setbacks to students’ academic achievements and may have stalled critical research projects in the final quarter.”

More on UAW 4811:
The UAW 4811 union represents over 48,000 graduate students working as tutors, researchers, and teaching assistants. On May 20, they went on strike after they claimed university officials were suppressing their free speech. The protests started at UC Santa Cruz and quickly moved to other campuses, including UC Santa Barbara, Irvine, Los Angeles, and San Diego.