IMPORTANT UPDATE: The registrar has indicated that there will be a way for instructors to submit final grades for select students that need them now, for example, students who need transcripts to matriculate into grad school and those on financial aid probation. Although the precise mechanism is still unclear, we have reason to believe that it will be possible to submit individual grades to the university for students who urgently need them. Please ask your undergraduate students to let you know if they urgently need their grades – they do not need to tell you the reason. It is not crossing the digital picket line to submit these students’ final grades to instructors and the university. GSIs should contact their department chair to ensure that the Registrar makes it possible to submit individual grades for their classes. Please spread the word.
Q: Why are we striking? How did we get here?
A: UCSC grads are severely rent-burdened, paying over 50% of their paychecks towards rent—a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), amounting to $1412 per month, would bring us out of rent burden. The university administration has failed to address our demand for COLA. Faced with our demands, the administration has responded with condescension, dismissal, and silence.
On Sunday, December 8, hundreds of UCSC graduate student workers voted to strike and host a wildcat strike. UCSC grads already knew that we are collectively affected by the same material conditions. The decision to strike means we also understand our collective power. Let’s not forget that we are indispensable to the university in its essential functions. Without our teaching and grading labor, there is no UCSC. We are precarious, and we are indispensable. This is the nature of our collective power. No COLA, No Grades.
Q: What is a wildcat strike?
A: A wildcat strike is “a work stoppage that occurs during the term of a collective bargaining agreement without approval of union leadership and in violation of a no-strike clause. Individuals who participate in wildcat strikes are engaged in unprotected activity and may be subject to employer discipline. The employer may, however, single out instigators for harsher discipline than is imposed against other participants.”
The fact that a wildcat strike is unsanctioned by both the university and statewide union should not dissuade us from moving forward. What will be decisive here are our numbers and support for another, our commitment to seeing this through, and our solidarity. Indeed, a great deal of the history of worker’s movements were built upon wildcat strikes, and these methods are just as successful today – including last year’s teachers’ strike in West Virginia. We are at a historic moment in the labor movement. Struggles all around us show us that strikes get workers the goods.
Q: What does striking look like?
A: Our no-grade strike is part of a year-long campaign; for this Fall quarter, we will not be entering grades until the university has given us a COLA. We stand firm by the line: no COLA, no grades. We will continue to perform all other job duties during the strike (grading, proctoring exams, communicating with students, etc.).
Although this strike necessarily involves disruption of business as usual on campus, we are committed to minimizing the potential negative impacts on undergraduate students. We can make case-by-case exceptions to the grade strike for students in extenuating circumstances who would be harmed by a delay in their grades. Please see the question below and the “how to strike” page on this website for more information.
Q: Will this hurt my undergraduates’ GPA? Will missing grades affect their financial aid? Will it affect them if they are on academic probation and need their status to be changed? Will this affect time to graduation?
A: This will not affect undergrads’ GPA. We are leaving grades blank for the duration of the strike, and will enter grades once the strike ends, at which point their records will be updated accordingly.
The vast majority of undergrads’ financial aid will be unaffected; only those who are on financial aid probation (a small percentage) could potentially have their financial aid delayed due to withheld grades, if grades for these students are not submitted by TAs/instructors and processed by the university.
For students who are on academic probation, on athletic teams, or in other circumstances that require quarterly review of their grades, the reviews of these students will be waived for Fall 2019. Students will not be disqualified, kicked off an athletic team, or suffer other such negative consequences due to a missing grade.
For students who are graduating this quarter, the official processing of their graduation may be delayed until their grades are released. After the strike ends and we submit their grades, their graduation will be processed and records will show that they graduated in Fall 2019.
Please see the undergrad FAQ for more comprehensive answers to these questions.
We advise that you message your undergrads and ask students to contact you if they are graduating or have other extenuating circumstances that require their grades to be immediately released. Do not ask students to disclose their probation status, immigration status, or other circumstances that could render them vulnerable. It is not crossing the digital picket line to submit the grade of an individual student who claims they need their grade urgently, no questions asked. Please also direct students to the undergrad FAQ on this website if they have questions or concerns.
For students who contact you saying they are in a situation where they urgently need their grades, we advise you to submit their grades to the instructor – no questions asked. See the next question below for more information about the submission of grades for individual students.
The administration does not have to let the effects of this fall on undergraduate students. This is a political decision beyond your control and your undergraduates do not have to be penalized for it. Tell your undergraduates to contact their academic advisor if they are worried about this.
Q: How can I submit grades for individual students on a case-by-case basis?
A: For any student who contacted you saying they need their grade released urgently, inform the instructor of your intention to submit grades for those students, and submit the final grades for those students only to your instructor as normal.
The Registrar’s Office has sent out a form to departments asking departments which classes they expect to be affected by the strike. The form includes the following text: “On a case by case basis, the Office of the Registrar is able to manually change an individual grade roster to support a partial posting of official grades (remaining grades may be entered later).”
Update: The Registrar’s Office has now sent instructions to instructors of record on how to submit individual grades. Instructors should save the grades they wish to submit in the grade roster, then email the Registrar’s Office from their UCSC email address with their request to submit a partial grade roster. Requests should include the course subject and number and be sent to registrar@ucsc.edu, CC regsys@ucsc.edu and cpsanger@ucsc.edu. If you are a TA, your instructor should do this. If you are a GSI, you should do this yourself.
Q: Can I informally send my students their grades over email?
A: Generally, sending grades over email is not advised due to privacy concerns. However, if you have students who are requesting that you send them their grades via email, we have provided a FERPA waiver form that you can use to send them their grades without violating FERPA. You can find this form and more information here.
Q: What are some repercussions/consequences of striking? Are there things I can do to lessen the chances of being penalized for striking?
A: The UC can withhold pay for labor stoppages. However, the UC has to pay us for labor we have done, so hopefully this reduction would be at the level of minutes – rather than hours – as long as you have done everything EXCEPT submit the grades. University not paying for labor would be a violation of the contract, which it cannot do even during our strike. We can address this risk by filing grievances for lost pay. The timing of the strike is advantageous because UCSC is rolling out UCPath, which has had problems at other campuses. We are vigilant about potential missed pay. If you are not paid your full amount at the beginning of January, we recommend that you request a same day check. We also are prepared to file a grievance on your behalf related to lost pay during the UCPath roll out. If you created a spreadsheet of your hours, remember that you are paid for 220 hours. If you produce a document signed by your professor that indicates that you have already done all or close to your hours, it would be inappropriate for the UC to dock your pay. Remember that our hours fluctuate across the quarter, and it may be the case for some graduate student TAs that they can only really lose pay for a few minutes at this point in the quarter.
Q: Am I going to lose my winter appointment?
A: It is unjust to lose your winter appointment for striking to gain a cost of living. We will have media coverage of this campaign, and we have plenty of faculty, undergraduates and lecturers on our side. TAs losing winter appointments would look bad on the university. We will also file grievances for anyone who may be penalized.
You will have to assess how likely your department is to penalize you, based on factors such as how sympathetic your faculty is, how many people in your department will strike, etc. Striking is risky, but through our collective action within and across departments, we are strong in overcoming any retaliation from the university – grad to grad, we have each other’s backs.
Stay in touch with your department grad representations, and get more people around you to strike – this will protect you.
Q: What are some repercussions/ consequences for international students specifically?
A: Our contract lists the possibility of dismissal as the harshest consequence of striking while in contract. This is a documented risk. It is important to understand that international students can maintain their visa status even if they lose employment. Their visas can only be terminated in case of an academic suspension, which is not related to their employment status, or in case of disciplinary punishment (likely for a “violation” of the UC Code of Conduct). Reach out to us if you might be facing a disciplinary punishment for strike-related activities!
Q: Who can I contact to deal with questions and concerns?
Departments have grad representatives who are here to help you. If they haven’t reached out to you yet, contact marceloucsb@gmail.com with your questions and concerns, and for getting in touch with your department representatives.
Q: If I’ve already posted grades from earlier in the quarter, should I immediately go back and remove them right now (saving the data first of course)?
A: As far as is possible to you, we suggest that you do. Be sure to download the gradebook before removing scores.
Q: How do I download, then delete my grades?
A: Easy!
1. On Canvas, go to the home page for whatever class you’re TAing. On the left, click the Grades tab. This takes you to the gradebook.
2. In the gradebook, you will see three options at the top: Gradebook, View, and Actions. Click Actions, then click Export. This will start the export process, though it may take a minute, depending on how many grades you have in the gradebook.
3. Your grades will have downloaded as a .csv file. Now, you can view them in Numbers (if you have a Mac), or Excel. To open them in Excel, find the grades file in your Finder (its name will likely begin with the day and time you downloaded them). Right-click on the file, choose Open With, and then choose Excel.
4. Great! Now they’re on your computer and you can start deleting them from Canvas.
Q: Will this extra grading work be put on lecturers?
A: We are working in solidarity with AFT, the lecturers’ union, who are in support of our strike. They are ready to file grievances if the university puts the extra work onto lecturers.
Q: Will this extra grading work be put on faculty?
A: We are working in solidarity with the Faculty Association, who are in support of our strike. We and they will push against extra work for faculty. Some faculty have already said that they, too, will withhold grades in support of striking grad students.
Q: Should I take my grades down now, or email my professor first?
A: We suggest you export your grades on Canvas, download them as a spreadsheet, or screenshot them, reach out to other grads in your course to do the same, and then email your professor.
Q: The petition circulated among faculty doesn’t mention supporting a strike, or explicitly a COLA.
A: The circulated petition is not worded exactly as we would like it to be, but it indicates a broad support for paying grads a cost of living. It is the foundation for a good conversation with the signees about the tactic of striking.
Q: What if I’m a GSR, or on a fellowship?
A: Talk to others in your department and encourage them to strike. This COLA will benefit all grad students regardless of their employment status
Q: What if I’m a GSI?
A: Don’t enter your grades, and (of course) don’t penalize your TAs if they strike!!
Q: Is there also a possibility of this impacting our health insurance?
A: No. From our graduate UC SHIP representative:
“As the campus representative for UCSHIP, I checked with policy admin and was assured in email that UCSHIP will not be withheld from grads striking this quarter, as the premium was paid at the beginning of the quarter.
‘UC SHIP does not retro-terminate or rescind coverage once premiums are paid for the quarter.’”
Q: Where will the university get the additional $31 million needed for COLA?
A: Graduate students have repeatedly been asked: “Where will the money come from for the COLA?” We think this question is flawed. We have been hired by the UC to do a job: produce rigorous research and provide an excellent education. Managing UC and state finances is not the job of graduate students. In fact, the people who the UC hired to fundraise and manage money are the very administrators that persistently refuse to pay us a livable wage: enough to live here and do they job they brought us here to do. So, we respond to this question with a demand to administration: do your job and find the money for a COLA, and fast. That being said, we do think it is important to note that we live in the 5th largest economy in the world, and the UC is a state institution. There is undoubtedly money for a COLA.
In fact, the 2017-18 UCOP general funs budget notes over $372m “to be allocated” by UCOP (this also indicates the inequality of funds made available to the different campuses). Furthermore, the State of California is expected to have a budget surplus in several billions of dollars in 2019. Funds are available.
Since there seems to be a serious lack of imagination concerning funding sources we want to highlight a few points of information. In 2017, the UC was caught hiding $175 million in a state audit. That is the equivalent of 123,937 COLAS. From 2014 to 2017 (the only years this information is publicly available), the UC provided over $38 million to the Thirty Meter Telescope Project – a project that desecrates the most sacred mountain in Hawaii: Mauna Kea. Native Hawaiians, along with many from around the world have demanded that the UC withdraw from the project. The UC also spends north of $25 million on campus police that have repeatedly overstepped their legal authority. These are just a few examples that indicate the abundance of, and persistent mismanagement of, funds by the UC. It’s time they use those funds to pay employees a living wage.
Q: How does COLA relate to Summer funding?
A: We would push for a COLA for 12 months of the year.
Q: Students could be paid different percentages, e.g., 50%, 100%, etc. How does COLA relate to this?
A: We push for $1412 per graduate student, regardless of their employment status.
Q: Since the UCSC TA salary was determined based on Santa Cruz being designated as a rural, rather than urban community, would this not be more of a problem to take up with local government? I am wondering how the grading strike can lead to a COLA, if it is not being brought to those with more power to bring one about.
From Rebecca Ora – “To my understanding, this was discussed as a reason FACULTY pay is so low; TA salaries are determined by UAW2865 contract negotiations and all UC graduate academic workers get paid under the same contract regardless of location.
I was told by numerous administrators that, if this was indeed a thing, it is so old and outdated and buried under layers of negotiations, pay bumps, etc. that it’s not even relevant. Furthermore, the UC considering any campus in a certain way has nothing to do with local gov; it would have been a determination by the university.”
Q: My comrades who are lecturers are wanting to strike in solidarity. Should they do that?
Lecturers should contact Jeb Purucker, AFT rep. tragedythenfarce@gmail.com
How was COLA calculated?
UC Santa Cruz students, paid $2,434 a month before tax (9-months a year) would pay 47% of their salary on the median-priced room in a 3-bedroom house in Santa Cruz. In order to be considered out of rent burden, a student would need to pay only 29% of their salary on rent. To pay us enough that we would be brought out of rent burden and therefore only pay 29% of our salary on a median-priced room in a 3-bedroom house, we would need an extra $1,412 a month.