Notices by UC Access Now (ucaccessnow@sfba.social)

AFSCME Local 3299 announces indefinite strike to begin May 14

"The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 represents service and technical patient care workers, including people who work in dining halls, residential buildings and UCLA Health facilities. The union has been in contract negotiations with the University since January 2024 and has struck five times since bargaining began, repeatedly alleging that the UC has failed to negotiate in good faith."

https://dailybruin.com/2026/04/15/afscme-local-3299-announces-indefinite-strike-to-begin-may-14 #Labor #Union #HigherEd

I've advocated this for some time as a means of fighting cheating (before AI). Because fear of cheating is used as the excuse why disabled people are so policed in school.

Of course, some folks have disabilities where oral test on the spot would be contraindicated, but I think it's possible to come up with other means to meet their access needs.

How you assess has a lot to do with how gameable a system is (for those inclined to do that).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS7tk-ecHdE

Trump’s Personnel Agency Is Asking for Federal Workers’ Medical Records

Eugenics and Ableism go hand-in-hand with Fascism. Note also that such information can be used to blackmail people into submission when they might be resisting.

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/trump-opm-federal-workers-medical-records-privacy/ #Eugenics #Fascism #USpol

This Is Endometriosis | EE BAFTA Film Awards Nominated Shorts 2026

CW for flashing lights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPloEp8BAz8 #Disability #Film

Stroke survivors may be less lonely, have better recovery if they can share their feelings

- Stroke survivors who felt they could not talk about their feelings or fears about their health with close friends or family reported feeling lonelier and had worse physical and mental recovery when assessed one year after the stroke.

- Difficulty sharing their feelings with family/friends was as important as the severity of the stroke for identifying patients who would experience greater disability and poorer physical function one year after the stroke.

- Supporting caregivers, family and health care professionals to provide a safe space that encourages stroke survivors to share their feelings and fears after having a stroke may enhance stroke recovery.

https://newsroom.heart.org/news/stroke-survivors-may-be-less-lonely-have-better-recovery-if-they-can-share-their-feelings #Disability #Medicine

During the early pandemic, everyone was using online tools for lessons, work, & events. As soon as hegemons wanted not just "essential workers" but everyone back at the grindstone, the accessibility that online can offer was yanked back from disabled ppl.

We warned at the time that the lesson to take from how "horrible" people thought online schooling was was to *improve* it. That the years of ableist underinvestment in creative accessible online tools & training for presenters/teachers was largely to blame. Abled ppl ignored this or wrote op-eds saying online was inherently bad.

Just this week alone, we've heard how schools in Minnesota are trying to instruct students online and doctors are doing telemedicine because of ICE kidnappers. A rail crash in Catalunya resulted in a university cancelling exams because students can't commute to school.

Even if you're naïve enough to assume there will only be one pandemic, there are other reasons for accessibility.

#Ableism #Accessibility #EmergencyPreparedness

"The National Association for the Deaf sued the Trump administration in May, arguing that the cessation of American Sign Language interpretation — which the Biden administration had used regularly — represented “denying hundreds of thousands of deaf Americans meaningful access to the White House’s real-time communications on various issues of national and international import.” The group also sued during Trump’s first administration, seeking ASL interpretation for briefings related to the COVID-19 pandemic."

https://apnews.com/article/american-sign-language-trump-white-house-7ac33c635cdefd22154d6eb7e47d3d55 #USpol #ASL #Democracy

Botanical Gardens are a great place to be for a mental health break, but many disabled people cannot afford the membership and while they often have discounts for families, they usually have none for disabled people. Here's a little opportunity:

"College Student Membership Giveaway

We’re giving away 300 free Huntington Memberships to college students from all over Los Angeles County!"

Entry Period
Opens: October 1, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. PDT
Ends: October 5, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. PDT

https://www.huntington.org/college-student-membership-giveaway #Botany #DemolishDisabilityPoverty #MentalHealth

Technology Policy Associate

"We are seeking a candidate with a strong understanding of technological systems and a deep commitment to disability rights and inclusion. While this position does not require advanced technical expertise, a solid grasp of issues related to the design, deployment, and governance of technology is essential.

The ideal candidate will have familiarity with the public policy landscape in the United States and be comfortable navigating the processes of policymaking and advocacy. Experience in research, public policy, advocacy, or community organizing is highly valued."

"AAPD has an office headquartered in Washington, DC, but also has flexible workplace and remote work policies. AAPD follows strong COVID-19 Prevention Policies in our DC office and whenever our staff are in-person."

#GetFediHired #Disability #AntiAbleism #WashingtonDC

https://aapd.com/work-at-aapd

If you're a UC Davis community member, Congressman Mike Thompson represents much of the area that UC Davis folks are living in.

He just sent out this email about office hours on Monday Sept 15, 2025 from 2pm - 4pm at the Davis Senior Center. If you need help with federal stuff, don't feel too shy to ask the Congressman's staff for help. That's what they're there for.

#USpol #California #DavisCA

Riverside Free Clinic: A health resource for the community

https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/07/09/riverside-free-clinic-health-resource-community #Healthcare #California #Riverside

"LA Metro wants to hear from you! The Draft 2025–2028 Coordinated Plan serves as a framework to address mobility for seniors and people with disabilities. Don’t miss the virtual meeting on Wednesday, May 21 at 10:30am to learn more and share your thoughts! The draft plan is available online and at several locations across LA County. Submit your comments on the draft plan by email, phone, or mail before June 2, 2025. For more information, visit

https://www.metro.net/projects/coordinated-plan-development/ " #LosAngeles #Accessibility #Transportation #PublicTransit @disability

"With more than 3.5 million Californians living with diabetes, Gov. Newsom pledged in 2023 that California would sell its own insulin — a life-saving drug that helps patients manage the disease — for $30 a vial under a “2024 delivery” timeline.

But as CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang explains, the governor’s plan to produce a cheap, generic insulin is years behind his schedule." https://calmatters.org/newsletter/fast-food-insulin-promises/
#California #Healthcare #Disability

If you don't have dental coverage yet need a cleaning, dental schools have some free appointments. Such appointments usually take longer because people are just learning, but they're supervised by clinic instructors.

If you're near Sacramento and need a dental cleaning, here's info about Carrington College's program:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Davis/comments/1j0gva2/free_dental_cleaning/

https://carrington.edu/blog/carrington-college-dental-hygiene-clinic-in-sacramento-what-you-need-to-know/ #Poverty #Sacramento #DavisCA

Inaccessible cycling racks were the last straw that catalyzed the formation of UC Access Now.

It was very difficult getting non-disabled anti-ableists who cycled to use our campaign tool to press UC decisionmakers about the issue!

These cycle racks were installed without consultation with us, but in response to our hard-fought campaign.

We told abled cyclists all along that accessible racks benefit you too! Most rack designs & installations throughout UC do not take upright bikes with trailers, bakfiets, cargo bikes, trikes, etc into consideration at all.

And this is an upright bike towing a trailer parked at the racks installed as a result of our activism. #UCAccessNow #CycleParkingAudit #Infrastructure #Ableism @fedibikes @disability

“It’s not an honor to be on the forefront of social commentary that makes most people with privilege uncomfortable,” she says.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/02/alice-wong-interview @disability #Ableism #Disability #Pandemic

People's CDC has started a letter-writing campaign to demand to demand that Medicare extend funding for full telehealth services by Dec 18, 2024.

Please boost as this is vital for disabled people.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/extend-full-telehealth-services

#COVIDisNotOver #Medicare #Healthcare

Disabled people are afterthoughts in emergency planning and response.

AAPD has compiled a list of resources providing help to disabled people in disasters (and remember you can also DONATE to these orgs if you can spare it):

https://disasterstrategies.org/hotline/

https://disasterstrategies.org/hurricane-helene-disability-response-update/

https://adasoutheast.org/resources/helene-resources/ (Donation info here as well)

https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org/

https://www.nvoad.org/

https://disasterstrategies.org/fema-ia-reforms-quick-reference-guides/

https://unitedspinal.org/disaster-relief-grant/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0P-XzPc-Cr[…]NOWth5nEodBBCohdPtjAQbp-zPexuXQkA_aem_YC0wrh-yUHiingnxZzXzzA

#Helene #Hurricane #Milton

@disability

Right-wingers instigated violence at UCLA. Then right-wingers sued, often showing a sudden suspicious interest in the Americans with Disabilities Act, claiming they were endangered by protest.

If those who support protest don't make as much noise as the right wing, if not more, the University caves with no significant pushback, once more failing the public.

You can be certain the folks who sued under ADA have no actual record of anti-ableist activism at UC.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-19/zero-tolerance-at-uc-campuses-in-new-order-banning-encampments-masking-blocking-paths

https://archive.is/NR6DB #UCAccessNow #StudentSpring

The Americans with Disabilities Act happened due to disabled activists taking huge risks to be heard, supported by allies such as the Black Panthers.

Repeated demonstrations, sit-ins, and lying down or sitting in their wheelchairs in front of inaccessible buses (for instance) built the momentum that led to one of those rare moments in time when politicians from both major parties agreed to actually do work and get ADA through.

If you're an abled parent enjoying elevators to BART, or an abled delivery driver using ramps and curbcuts, don't forget the disabled activists who risked so much for the infrastructure you take for granted.

In fact, JOIN disabled ppl in working not just for ADA compliance, but full accessibility & equity! Disability Justice!

Photos from this disability activism in the US: http://tomolincollection.com/

#ADA34 #UCAccessNow #Accessibility #Disability @disability @disabilityjustice