At the Strike Assembly on Jan 9, there was a unanimous recognition of our collective position of power. Our successful withholding of over 12,000 Fall grades, after only a week of organizing, gave all those present a palpable sense of possibility for further disruptive action. Around 150 grad students in person — and around 50 online — overwhelmingly indicated an intention to continue to strike and escalate until we get COLA. A large majority, furthermore, indicated that they would provisionally withhold all Winter grades, pending the results of a straw poll that would assess whether or not there is a critical mass of graduate students ready to escalate the strike.
On Monday, Jan 13, we will be sending out the straw poll to assess our collective power. We will leave the poll open until Friday, Jan 17, at noon, and we ask that you hold off on answering until the end of the week. Because we are in a wildcat strike, this poll should not be thought of as a vote in which the majority determines the course of action we all take. Rather, we think of it as an assessment of commitments to actions. The questions of the poll concern the following possible courses of action (of which none preclude others from taking place):
- A “sick-out strike” on January 22nd, the date of the Regents’ Meeting.
- Withholding final grades at the end of Winter quarter.
- Withholding all grades for Winter quarter.
What does a sick-out strike look like?
This involves using one of our two sick days, which are permitted under Article 17 of our contract. This is a low-stakes action which will still result in a collective work stoppage. The intention, furthermore, is to coordinate this sick-out strike with other union workers, other UC campuses, and even undergrads, to achieve a maximum degree of disruption – while still remaining within our contractual boundaries.
As we have two contractually protected sick days, we can discuss a further sick-out strike for later in the quarter.
What does withholding final grades at the end of Winter quarter look like?
This looks like it did this quarter – withholding final grades and exams. For those who don’t have final grades or exams, we will discuss what this could look like for you.
What does withholding all grades for Winter quarter look like?
At the Strike Assembly, the majority of attendees indicated that they would provisionally withhold all Winter quarter grades until the results of the straw poll indicates whether or not a critical mass of graduate students are ready to escalate now. This action extends and generalizes Fall’s grading strike action to cover the submission of any and all grade evaluations for the quarter, up to and including final grades.
So, to questions about the poll itself:
Why shouldn’t I respond to the poll immediately?
Coming out of the assembly, there was naturally some uncertainty about the risks and benefits of these actions — there are limits on how much can be discussed in a few hours. Over the week, we will have the time to inform ourselves of what each of these options means for us, as a collective and as individuals. We’ll have a strike headquarters set up at the library every day at 12-6pm, starting Monday. Strike HQ is a consistent and dedicated space for tactical discussion. If you come to Strike HQ ready to talk escalation tactics, you can expect to encounter the heterogeneity of tactical viewpoints within the unity of our strategic goal — winning a COLA. A productive meeting of these viewpoints will be crucial for developing a robust collective analysis of our position of strength at this point in the COLA campaign.
What should I do this week?
While the poll will open on Monday, we recommend that you hold off on answering until the end of the week. A lot of organizing and tactical discussion can happen in a week. These kinds of discussions are the quotidian building blocks that make bold political actions like our Fall grading strike possible. To that end, we encourage you to take the following actions before you cast your vote:
-Call a department meeting. This could be solely grads, or grads and faculty. Talk with grads about the material conditions underlying our need for a COLA, discuss administration’s attempts to break the strike, consider the escalation strategies, and consider your faculty and undergraduate support.
–Familiarize yourself with the arguments made on our website, including our email history and FAQs.
–Come to strike headquarters at the library! M-F, 12:00-6:00 pm.
-Attend the Organizing Committee meeting: Thursday, Jan 16, 6pm at Tabby Cat Café.
-Meet with your committees (or sign up for other actions and committees)
In solidarity,
Striking graduate students