December 9, 2019
To: UC Santa Cruz Graduate Students
From: Acting Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Quentin Williams
Subject: Following up about the illegal grade strike
Dear Graduate Students,
Campus leaders recognize that UC Santa Cruz graduate students, like many in our community, face severe housing challenges. We take your needs seriously and are committed to working together to address the challenges of high rent burdens. The campus has been analyzing different models to provide its graduate students with more support.
Our chancellor and interim campus provost/executive vice chancellor want to engage with you to work on your concerns. While the campus can engage directly with you as graduate students, any discussions involving terms or conditions of employment—which would include any wage increase—must be negotiated with your union representative in accordance with federal labor law. If you wish to negotiate, we must do so with the UAW 2865 present.
The University of California has a current collective bargaining agreement, negotiated last year, governing the terms and conditions of employment for readers, tutors, teaching assistants, and graduate student instructors. Regardless of whether you pay dues to the union or are an elected member of union leadership, this contract, including its rights and obligations, applies to you if you have an active appointment in one of these positions.
Under the terms of that agreement, academic student employees cannot engage in any strikes, work stoppages, interruptions of work, or any activity that directly or indirectly interferes with university operations while a contract is in place. A grading strike is direct interference with the university’s operations and a violation of your collective bargaining agreement. Withholding grades for student exams or essays or intentionally deleting grades from university systems is not only a violation of your collective bargaining agreement, but also potentially a violation of federal law. Any action taken by a reader, tutor, teaching assistant, or graduate student instructor to withhold or intentionally interfere with work as defined in their description of duties form attached to their appointment letter is, as per the current UC contract with the UAW, cause for docking pay and employee discipline, up to and including termination. These contractual aspects are independent from the behavioral standards in place in our Student Code of Conduct.
The university is committed to ensuring that all people may exercise the constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, and assembly. The right of free speech in a university includes the right to acts of peaceful dissent, protests in peaceable assembly, and orderly demonstrations.
It is important to know that these rights are subject to restrictions based on time, place, and manner rules, and a violation of these rules may lead to discipline. For example, UC policy does not allow expressive activity to disrupt the regular and essential operations of the university, such as our ability to offer classes, administer exams, carry on research, or run the university in general, or block or impede ingress to or egress from the campus or buildings.
We all hope that a resolution can be reached that will support you during your academic career at UC Santa Cruz.