When they head out to the polls in March, UC service workers should vote against a strike. Nothing could hurt the workers and the university more, at this point, than a prolonged labor dispute.

Clearly, union members have legitimate reasons to be angry. They continue to toil for poor wages and their frustrations are more than understandable.

The case of the service workers, however, is only one among many unfortunate consequences of the bare-bones UC budget provided by the state in recent years. Picketing the university would do little to fix the underlying problem: inadequate state money.

Labor leaders have spent their time finding outrageous instances of executive bonuses and administrative raises throughout the university. While surely unfair, these examples provide little evidence that the university can afford wholesale wage hikes for thousands of service workers without increased state support.

Instead of searching for evidence of malfeasance, union heads should work on a persuasive case to show why the state must send more money the university’s way.

To succeed in lobbying Sacramento lawmakers for increased state support for the UC system, university administrators, students and workers must form a united front. A work stoppage would distract the university in its fight for more money and likely only hurt university staff in the long run.

Only a unified university can succeed in the annual battle for a bigger share of the state pie.