Dear Campus Community,
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)–which represents academic student employees, postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers–has announced a systemwide labor strike that will begin Monday, May 20 at UC Santa Cruz.
The University of California disagrees with the union’s position and views this work stoppage as unlawful and in violation of the clear terms of the collective bargaining agreements between the parties, which prohibits strikes, work stoppages, and any other concerted activities that interfere directly or indirectly with University operations during the life of the current collective bargaining agreements.
Today, the University of California filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) with the state Public Employment Relations Board, asking the state to order UAW 4811 and its bargaining unit members to cease and desist strike activity.
UC and UC Santa Cruz both have a long tradition of respecting the civil expression of individual views. Individual graduate student employees are free to exercise their rights so long as such participation does not conflict or interfere with their work responsibilities and does not violate university policies, including the Student Code of Conduct.
With a strike, our primary goal is to minimize the disruptive impact, especially given the many educational and research disruptions that have affected students and researchers in recent years. Academic and operational continuity is essential to the University of California’s education and research mission and a core responsibility to our students.
The campus will share important information at ucsc.edu/strike and use text messages and email to share time-sensitive updates. For questions, you may call your Employee & Labor Relations Analyst in Staff HR or email elrinfo@ucsc.edu. Academic employees may reach out to apo@ucsc.edu.
I am writing to share important and helpful information and resources ahead of Monday’s announced strike.
Continuity of instruction and research
Deans, department chairs, department managers, college provosts, and faculty received guidance on May 14 regarding responsibilities and support for continuity of instruction and research. Instructors are encouraged to talk with their department chair for assistance. UC has answers to frequently asked questions online. Our Teaching and Learning Center offers a labor actions resource page with current information and instructional support.
UCSC supports protected free speech activities
UC Santa Cruz is committed to ensuring that all people may exercise their constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, and assembly. The ongoing opportunity for the expression of a variety of viewpoints is at the core of this commitment. The right of free speech at public universities includes the right to acts of peaceful dissent, protests in peaceable assembly, and orderly, nondisruptive demonstrations which include picketing.
Our campus Free Speech website provides additional information
No employee is ever obligated to engage in collective labor activities, such as striking, picketing, or protesting. Unions are legally prohibited from threatening or coercing members in other ways to keep them from coming to work. Academic and staff employees should remain in contact with their supervisors, managers, and chairs to discuss their schedules and work locations as needed.
If you feel you are being threatened, harassed, or intimidated about crossing a picket line, or are prevented from working by picketers or striking employees, please immediately notify your supervisor and your campus employee and labor relations office. In cases of emergency, please dial 9–1–1.
Blocking access roads harms members of the campus community
Preventing vehicles or individuals from entering or leaving campus imposes burdens on those who already must overcome obstacles in their day. Students, staff, and faculty with mobility challenges face additional difficulty getting to the academic core of the campus if buses are unable to come onto campus. Parents face uncertainty or delays in taking their children to school or childcare or medical care. Students, staff, faculty and their families living on campus experience stress about getting to off-campus jobs or appointments on time.
Campus community should stay informed, remain flexible
Though we do not know precisely how strike activities will impact the operation of the residential campus, we are working to do everything we can to minimize disruptions and provide operational continuity. Campus Transit shuttles will be operational. However, potential strike-related disruptions at the main and/or west campus entrances may result in transportation delays, including an inability of METRO buses to access campus. In that situation, we anticipate that METRO campus routes will instead stop at the Barn Theater, and riders can board a Campus Transit shuttle nearby.
TAPS Transit Operations will give the highest priority to providing Disability Van Service (DVS) clients transport between on-campus locations while suspending the Bike Shuttle and modifying regular Loop and Upper Campus services as needed.
We anticipate that campus dining halls and cafes and the Student Health Services building, including Counseling and Psychological Services, will be open through the strike. If you are experiencing emotional or psychological distress, call 831–459–2628 or go to the crisis assistance webpage.
Information about campus operations will be shared at ucsc.edu/strike. The campus may also send SlugSafe and CruzAlert notifications as appropriate.
Thank you for your patience during this time.
Sincerely,
Lori
Lori Kletzer
Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
