also be sure to read the F.A.Q. for all graduate students
Updated 1/25/2019
Q: Why are we striking?
A: On Sunday, December 8, hundreds of UCSC graduate student workers voted to host a wildcat grading strike. We are striking because the university administration has failed to address our demand for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), amounting to $1412 per month.
UCSC grads are severely rent-burdened, often paying over 50% of their paychecks towards rent. COLA would bring us out of rent burden.
Let’s not forget that we are indispensable to the university in its essential functions. Without our teaching and grading labor, not to mention our research, there is no UCSC. We are precarious, and we are indispensable. This is the nature of our collective power. No COLA? No Grades.
Q: Is striking illegal? Can I get arrested?
You cannot get arrested for merely participating in a wildcat strike. Firstly, whether or not a wildcat strike is illegal is actually a complex question. Yes, graduate students have stated they intend to violate an agreement (the statewide UAW 2865 bargaining agreement) by withholding their labor for approximately one hour on December 18. And yes, the University has recourse to legal means to enforce that contract. But no laws have been broken, and the University has the ability to resolve the issue of a cost of living adjustment for UCSC graduate students before the contract itself is breached. Indeed, there are precedents within the UC system for negotiations with graduate students outside of the statewide union bargaining unit.
Secondly, breach of contract is a civil matter and no one can get arrested over it. And finally, the union is the party to the contract, not you, so you cannot be held civilly liable for striking.
Q: What are some repercussions/consequences of striking?
A: The UC can withhold pay for labor stoppages. However, the UC has to pay us for labor we have done, so this reduction would be at the level of minutes – rather than hours – as long as you have done everything EXCEPT submit the grades. The university not paying for labor would be a violation of the contract, which it cannot do even during our strike. If you are not paid your full amount at the beginning of January, we recommend that you request a same day check.
UAW 2865 contract lists the possibility of dismissal (from your position as a worker, TA, GSI, reader or grader, not from your position as a student) as the harshest consequence of striking while in contract. This is a documented risk. Academic student employment decisions are typically made by departments and divisions, many of whom already pledged not to retaliate against striking students. 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 a harsh disciplinary punishment, like suspension and expulsion. These punishments are not related to students’ employment status; they can be imposed, however, because of 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: Will the strike activities impede my ability to leave and return to the United States?
Please consult the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) about travelling abroad. The strike should not interfere with your immigration and visa status.
International students’ visa can only be revoked if a student is suspended or expelled from the university. Those disciplinary actions are extremely rare, they are not related to a labor strike, and require a “procedural due process” – if the university alleges that you violated the Student Code of Conduct, they must schedule a hearing. Reach out to us at payusmoreucsc@gmail.com if the administration schedules a disciplinary hearing to punish you for your participation in the strike.
Unless the university decides to suspend or expel strikers who are on student visas without “due process,” the strike will not interfere with immigration or visa status.
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 adjustment. We 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. Further, if the university decided to withhold TAships based on striking, they would not have the TAs needed to teach their classes. 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 are, how many people in your department will strike, etc. Striking is risky, but through our collective action within and across departments, we strengthen ourselves against any retaliation from the university – grad to grad, we have each other’s backs.
See if your department has issued a statement of support, and if they haven’t, reach out to them and get more people around you to strike – this will protect you.
International students on a visa are not allowed to work outside of campus, so we recognize the risk of losing employment for international students – tuition and fees are exorbitant if not waived. We do not expect international grads to lose employment, we will fight for you if you do, and we will do our best to support you financially if you incur material consequences as a result of the strike. We have a strike fund and grads have begun to pledge their first COLA payment to help undergrads and grads who may have been affected by the strike 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: Are other international grads striking? Am I alone in this?
Though international students have unique vulnerabilities, it is important to remember that the university administration has a keen interest in not sabotaging international students. The university’s Global Engagement program is invested in “internationalizing”; one of the ways it does this is by increasing its numbers of international students. Should it set a precedent by revoking or threatening to revoke the TA-ships of people who cannot work off-campus, or by placing international students’ visas in jeopardy, the administration would compromise UCSC’s efforts to become internationally recognised.
Moreover, many of the students who are participating in the strike are international students. You are not alone. We are in this together and together we will win.
Solidarity forever,
(Some) Striking international students:
Yulia Gilichinskaya
Tony Boardman
Jack Davies
Jane Komori
Rowan Powell
Stefan Yong
Eda Tarak
Lachlan Summers
Sohum Banerjea
and many many more