It was a busy weekend in the University of California system. On Friday, somewhere between 54 and 80 graduate Teaching Assistants at UC Santa Cruz were fired due to their failure to turn in grades as a result of an ongoing wildcat strike. At midnight on Sunday a poll closed for UC San Diego grad students assessing willingness to participate in either a full wildcat strike or rolling strike actions. The UCSD Guardian covered both stories Sunday.
The wildcat strike, calling for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) pay raise for graduate students who are forced in to either overcrowded housing or homelessness in California's pricey real estate market, has so far spread to UC Santa Barbara where graduate students launched a full wildcat strike and UC Davis where students began a grading strike both on Thursday.
UCSC graduate students, who have so far faced arrests and firings since their strike moved beyond the withholding of grades last month, were calling for a day of action across the UC system on Monday and for the strike to spread as far and wide as possible.
Showing posts with label UCSC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UCSC. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Daily Nexus: UCSB Students to Join UCSC wildcat COLA strike
Monday evening graduate students at the University of California Santa Barbara voted to go on strike Thursday if their demands for a cost of living adjustment were not me by administrators. Student paper, the Daily Nexus, reports that the vote followed a 16 hour occupation of Cheadle Hall calling on UCSB's chancellor to email UC president Janet Napolitano as well as UC Santa Cruz administrators to denounce threats to fire striking graduate students at UCSC.
Much like the UCSC stoppage, the UCSB strike would be a wild cat action as students are acting independently of the United Autoworkers Union that represents graduate students in the UC system. Cost of Living adjustments (COLA) have been a focal point of graduate student organizing across the UC system with movements on every campus except San Francisco.
Much like the UCSC stoppage, the UCSB strike would be a wild cat action as students are acting independently of the United Autoworkers Union that represents graduate students in the UC system. Cost of Living adjustments (COLA) have been a focal point of graduate student organizing across the UC system with movements on every campus except San Francisco.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Crimson and Sentinel: Graduate Students reach tentative agreement with Harvard, go back on wildcat strike at UCSC
The Harvard Crimson reports that the Graduate Student Union and Harvard University reached tentative agreements on three potential contract provisions last week. The two sides have made progress since the January 1 conclusion of a four week strike by workers after four mediated sessions, but have still not arrived at a first contract for the GSU.
Of particular conflict are provisions regarding compensation as well as proceedings around harassment and discrimination complaints.
Meanwhile, Graduate Students at the University of California, Santa Cruz launched an open ended wildcat strike for a cost of living increase, Monday, to meet high housing costs in one of the nations hardest rental markets. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that pickets were set up at both main entrances to the main UCSC campus, virtually shutting down all access to the campus at one point on Monday. Striking Teaching Assistants were joined by teaching faculty and undergraduates swelling their ranks, but making member participation in the unsanctioned strike difficult to determine.
Solidarity rallies were reported Monday on other UC campuses. The strike represents an escalation in actions following a grading strike at the end of the Fall semester in which 200 TAs still have not turned in final grades and a sickout last month. UCSC administration maintains that it cannot negotiate with the graduate student workers outside of formal contract negotiations and that the strike action is illegal.
Of particular conflict are provisions regarding compensation as well as proceedings around harassment and discrimination complaints.
Meanwhile, Graduate Students at the University of California, Santa Cruz launched an open ended wildcat strike for a cost of living increase, Monday, to meet high housing costs in one of the nations hardest rental markets. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that pickets were set up at both main entrances to the main UCSC campus, virtually shutting down all access to the campus at one point on Monday. Striking Teaching Assistants were joined by teaching faculty and undergraduates swelling their ranks, but making member participation in the unsanctioned strike difficult to determine.
Solidarity rallies were reported Monday on other UC campuses. The strike represents an escalation in actions following a grading strike at the end of the Fall semester in which 200 TAs still have not turned in final grades and a sickout last month. UCSC administration maintains that it cannot negotiate with the graduate student workers outside of formal contract negotiations and that the strike action is illegal.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Sentinel: UC Santa Cruz grad students withhold grades in wild cat strike
Saying they can no longer afford the cost of housing in Santa Cruz, an unknown number of graduate student workers have declared an unauthorized wild cat strike. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, teaching assistants are withholding final grades and research assistants are refusing additional work until demands are met.
It remains unclear how many graduate students are participating in the strike, or how it will impact the end of the semester for undergraduate students. What is clear is that the strike did not come out of nowhere for the administration as the Graduate Student union had filed a complaint with the administration on November 7th highlighting the housing plight of many grad student workers who are confronted with homelessness, sleeping in cars and garages, and doubling up in rooms to save on rent. Contracts are negotiated at the system level between UC and UAW 2865, UAW 2865 had not responded to the Sentinel's request for a comment, but had posted on its Facebook page that
At a rally of support for striking students, graduate workers highlighted what they view as a system of exploitation that goes beyond paychecks forcing students to pay 50-60% of their wages on rent. Five stewards on the UCSC campus resigned their positions on Thursday to make way for the strike and limit the unions legal liability. Striking students say they are prepared to accept the consequences of a strike that violates their contract, as the needs on the ground have simply become too much to bear.
It remains unclear how many graduate students are participating in the strike, or how it will impact the end of the semester for undergraduate students. What is clear is that the strike did not come out of nowhere for the administration as the Graduate Student union had filed a complaint with the administration on November 7th highlighting the housing plight of many grad student workers who are confronted with homelessness, sleeping in cars and garages, and doubling up in rooms to save on rent. Contracts are negotiated at the system level between UC and UAW 2865, UAW 2865 had not responded to the Sentinel's request for a comment, but had posted on its Facebook page that
At a rally of support for striking students, graduate workers highlighted what they view as a system of exploitation that goes beyond paychecks forcing students to pay 50-60% of their wages on rent. Five stewards on the UCSC campus resigned their positions on Thursday to make way for the strike and limit the unions legal liability. Striking students say they are prepared to accept the consequences of a strike that violates their contract, as the needs on the ground have simply become too much to bear.
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