As a member of a UC student-worker family, I call on the University to provide all academic student employees with full childcare reimbursement for children of all ages and full healthcare coverage for dependents, as demanded by the UAW 2865 in their current contract negotiations.

The current cap on childcare reimbursement, $600 per quarter and $900 per semester, falls far short of the typical cost of childcare in any California community. This cap on reimbursement is especially burdensome to single parents and parents with multiple children or disabled children, whose childcare costs are far higher. Furthermore, the exclusion of all children above school age from the program is entirely arbitrary; our children do not stop needing adult supervision once they start school.

Families living on salaries that qualify as "very low-income" in many California communities should not be asked to pay thousands of dollars per year to ensure that our family members have health insurance. It is unacceptable for UC to charge students amounts that can add up to more than half of their yearly income, in the case of healthcare for one partner and one child.

Inadequate childcare and healthcare coverage forces families into debt in order to provide basic care for our children. It jeopardizes student-workers' academic success and teaching effectiveness, burdens their partners, and threatens the welfare of children in the UC community.

UC, support children and parents with full childcare and healthcare coverage for student-worker families.

Signed,