Academic workers at UC Santa Cruz will begin a strike on Monday that could paralyze instruction and other university operations, claiming their free speech rights were violated during the protests and demanding officials negotiate with pro-Palestinian protesters and end to what they say are hostile actions towards non-violent violence. activists and grant amnesty to those facing disciplinary action related to the unrest.
The strike at UC Santa Cruz is the first in a possible series of ongoing labor actions that could spread to all campuses in the University of California system. The strike is based on the union's claim that UC's response to campus protests has constituted unfair labor practices.
University officials characterize the industrial action as illegal because the academic workers have a valid contract with a no-strike clause.
United Auto Workers Local 4811 represents 48,000 graduate student teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and other academic workers, the largest union in the 10-campus system.
The strike authorization, supported by 79% of union members who voted, called on university officials to “commit to de-escalation and negotiate in good faith with protesters over their urgent moral concerns.”
The union has cited the violent mob attack on a pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA and the subsequent arrests of union members when police intervened to clear the camp, calling the actions “an assault on our fundamental right to free expression.” Last week at UC Irvine, police arrested 47 protesters allegedly involved in the storming of a building.
More broadly, pro-Palestinian protesters have demanded, among other things, that universities divest from Israel and arms companies.
Over the weekend, UAW 4811's Instagram page forecast possible next targets.
“UCLA next,” read one post with an eyeball emoji, while other posts suggested that UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC San Diego could be called into the continuing strike.
The union has not formally called strikes on those campuses.
However, there could be independent actions by union members that are not authorized by the union. Some members and pro-Palestinian university groups have said they will strike or protest in support of academic workers in Santa Cruz.
On Instagram, a group “Academics for Justice in Palestine” from UC Santa Barbara posted that their followers should leave on Monday at 11:30 a.m.: “We come out in solidarity with our union brothers at UC Santa Cruz who are rising up and striking.” today for Free Speech, Workplace Safety, and Academic Freedom! Get ready UCSB… We are ready to attack!”
UC leaders on Friday filed their own state unfair labor practice charge against the union, which called on the labor board to order student workers to “cease and desist” from the strike.
“This strike directly violates the [collective bargaining agreement’s] It has no strike provisions and has no bearing on the employment of UAW members at the university. Instead, as communications from the UAW and its members make clear, the UAW is striking to support protest activities surrounding the conflict in the Middle East,” the UC said in its filing with the state labor board.
In a letter sent to graduate student workers on Wednesday, UC officials warned students not to strike.
“Participating in the strike does not change, excuse or modify an employee's normal job duties or expectations. And, unlike a protected strike, you could be subject to corrective action for failing to perform your duties,” the unsigned letter from the UC president’s office said.
Workers ratified their current contract at the end of 2022, obtaining significant wage increases and benefit improvements.
The union argues that the strike is within its legal rights because it is related to an unfair labor practice charge that workers filed in early May with the state labor board.
J. Félix De La Torre, general counsel for the labor board, said a decision on the cease-and-desist order sought by the university could come as early as this week. He added that the labor board also offered a mediator in an effort to help resolve the dispute.
For two weeks, UC Santa Cruz students, including unionized graduate students, have held a pro-Palestinian camp on campus in support of divestment from Israel. The strike comes as protesters and the university administration have indicated they have reached a stalemate. Protest leaders said Thursday they were “under imminent threat of a police raid” after they said the university gave them formal notice to “cease all camping activities on university property.”
Santa Cruz is a smaller UC campus with 19,764 students, nearly 2,000 of whom are in graduate school. In 2020, the university laid off dozens of graduate students from their teaching assistant positions after strikes there. At least 17 arrests were made during a similar student-led demonstration.
Rafael Jaime, co-president of United Auto Workers Local 4811 and a doctoral candidate in the English department at UCLA, said that to resolve the strike the union needs to “see a real commitment from the university to respect our rights to free speech and peaceful protest on campus.” .”
A first step would be for administrators to reconsider the discipline and suspension notices that have been sent to some student workers involved in the protests, he said.
Speaking before the strike decision, Jaime said a strike would mean “all academic work would cease, including research, teaching and grading”.
Student workers will receive $500 a week in strike pay, or about 33% less than what the average teaching assistant makes for a 20-hour work week, he said.
