Oh, Seyoung. 2019. “Created Image: Fighting for Equality.”Visualizing Toxicity within the UC Workforce, created by Seyoung Oh. In Visualizing Toxic Subjects Digital Exhibit, curated by James Adams and Kim Fortun. The Center for Ethnography. March.
Kelsen, David. 2018. “UC Irvine Service and Patient-Care Workers Walk Picket Lines in 3-Day Statewide Strike.” OC Weekly. May 7, 2018. Accessed [Nov. 16, 2018] https://ocweekly.com/uc-irvine-service-and-patient-care-workers-walk-picket-lines-in-3-day-statewide-strike/.
Anonymous, "Title: Created image: Fighting for Equality", contributed by Seyoung Oh, Center for Ethnography, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 21 December 2018, accessed 15 November 2024. http://centerforethnography.org/content/title-created-image-fighting-equality
Critical Commentary
Substantive Caption: These photographs were originally included in OCWEEKLY on May 8, 2018 to capture the vivid scene of the UC employee union’s rally against growing disparities among UC employees. The union represented more than 24,000 workers who are working in UC’s five medical centers and ten campuses. The images describe the protest scene: hundreds of UC employees gathered outside the UC medical center in Orange and began their three day protest against racial, gender, and income inequalities at the UCs. They are aggrieved about the following issues: in the last decade, the income gap between the highest and lowest paid workers in the UC has grown rapidly; there are racial inequalities in average pay rates among all AFSCME (UC’s largest employee union) workers in the UC system; lastly, in the service sector, women service employees receive lower pay than men across all UC campuses regardless of race.
Design Statement:
-These visualizations were selected since these images stimulate viewers to inquire into the cause of the toxic situations and the frustrations of the vulnerable community
-The picket signs aggressively disclose subjects’ emotions such as anger, disappointment, and anxiety regarding the perpetuation of injustices within the UC workforce.
-The photographs convey the engagement of the vulnerable group. For instance, community solidarity against these unjust disparities that were produced by the UC system is also strongly represented in employees’ green union shirts that say “WE RUN UC.”