Tag: Email Timeline

Introduction

Yesterday afternoon, about eighty graduate students and a dozen undergraduates convened in McHenry Library to discuss what a full strike will look like for different groups of UCSC student-workers. After sharing concerns and potential strategies, groups of TAs, GSIs, GSRs, fellowship recipients, and undergraduates met to discuss their visions for next week’s strike escalation. 

Below are recommendations for how to plan for the next week.  These recommendations should be adapted to your own level of readiness and contextual factors (e.g. the level of support you receive from your department and the ways that withholding your labor impacts the institution). 

Importantly, everyone should show up to the picket line at the base of campus on Monday, February 10 at 7:30 AM, in order to provide maximum visibility and disruption. 

We will hold meetings on the picket line at the end of day (4:30pm-5:30pm) to assess new developments and plan our next steps. 

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What happens now / What you can do / What to expect next week

• Department-level organizing: this is a critical time to check in with classmates, colleagues, and faculty to discuss what strategies graduate students could and should take.  
• If one hasn’t already been scheduled, call a department meeting. Personally call every graduate student that you know in your department to encourage participation. The more one-on-one conversations you have, the better. 
• If you haven’t polled your department, do so now (poll model here, please duplicate and tailor and feedback results to payusmoreucsc@gmail.com). The poll at Thursday’s general assembly was framed as “an assessment of our collective power,” rather than a vote. Department polls will be more representative of the specific actions that your department can achieve with regards to this week’s strike action.

Actions this week: 

• Tonight’s GSA/COLA/MMM, 5-8pm, at the GSC, with an undergraduate teach-in on debt, and discussion of undergraduate demands, 5:45-6:30pm. 
• STEM “Work-in” at Coastal Sciences on Friday, 2/7, 10:30am-3:30pm with screenprinting. Bring a t-shirt! Restock on buttons! 

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How to strike as a TA

If your department is highly organized and supportive, we need you and your faculty on the picket line! Having a massive presence at the base of campus makes it clear that we are on strike, business cannot continue as usual, and that we have numbers/support. 

• Join the picket on Monday morning, February 10 beginning at 7:30 AM. 
• Send a letter to your department. Call on faculty to honor the picket line. Instead of holding classes on campus, recommend that they relocate to the base of campus. This has been common practice during past AFSCME strikes and helps to increase undergraduate turnout/education on the picket line. (See “Template for Faculty” PDF attached)
• Send an email to your students and encourage them to show up to the picket – you can use the template we include below. (See “Template for Undergrads” PDF attached)
• Hold your section/office hours on the picket line. 
• If you are in STEM and/or your department is in the early stages of building power, conduct “Teach the Strike” teach-ins. These teach-ins can be critical for strengthening undergrad-grad relationships and building interdepartmental solidarity. Sign up here.

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How to strike as a GSR

What is most important for GSRs to consider is how withholding work will or will not make an impact on the institution. If, for example, your GSR is directly linked to your dissertation data collection or to your advancement in your lab, you may want to find more covert ways to show your support than withholding your labor completely. Based on yesterday’s group discussion with GSRs, here are our recommendations for how to participate in the strike:

• Join the picket on Monday morning, February 10 beginning at 7:30 AM. 
• Show up and support the picket whenever possible. Organize your lab or research team to commit to times on the picket lines. 
• If you have to continue GSR work, wear the COLA wildcat t-shirt, a UAW 2865 t-shirt, or red (for Ed). Wear COLA buttons to the lab and seminars.
• If you are in STEM, add a COLA slide to every research presentation and talk about COLA at rotation presentations (template COLA slides will be uploaded on payusmoreucsc.com); consider wearing lab coats if that’s relevant to your research.
• Work in public/visible spaces: join the “work-in” at Coastal Sciences on Friday, 2/7, 10:30am-3:30pm 
• Start a conversation with other GSRs about unionizing. What are the grievances you have as a GSR (for example, no cap on hours you have to work; no set date for the paycheck; protections from exploitation)? Attend, or help present, a presentation at the picket about unionizing GSRs and voice those concerns. Contact gilichinskaya@gmail.com for more information. 

If withholding your work will immediately impact the administration, we encourage you to completely withhold your labor.

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How to strike as a GSI

For GSIs, we want to make clear that we are emphasizing the critical role we have in keeping the UC running, while simultaneously articulating that we do not want to hurt students’ academic progress (particularly those who are already falling behind).

Some options for GSIs that were discussed during yesterday’s meeting are:

• Join the picket on Monday morning, February 10 beginning at 7:30 AM. 
• Cancel classes or relocate them to the picket line. 
• Hold extended office hours on the picket line.
• Send an email to your students and encourage them to show up to the picket – you can use the template we include below. (See “Template for Undergrads” PDF below)
• Hold classes in alternative spaces (off campus, online, or in very visible spaces like Kerr Hall, McHenry Library)
• If you are in STEM and/or your department is in the early stages of building power, conduct “Teach the Strike” teach-ins. These teach-ins can be critical for strengthening undergrad-grad relationships and building interdepartmental solidarity.  Sign up here.
• Show up and support the picket whenever possible. 

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How to strike on fellowship

What is most important for graduate students on fellowship to consider is how to use your position to put pressure on the UC and support the efforts of strikers. Based on the group discussion with graduate students on fellowship, here are some recommendations on how to participate in the strike:

• Join the picket on Monday morning, February 10 beginning at 7:30 AM. 
• Show up and support the picket whenever possible. 
• Offer to conduct teach-ins, particularly for STEM classes. To do this, sign up here.
• Offer to support TAs and GSIs during (traditional or alternative) class sessions to show solidarity.

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Please await forthcoming information in the next few days on:

• How to protect yourself from retaliation 
• How to strike as an undergraduate
• FAQs
• General strategies for alternative forms of teaching

In solidarity.

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Attachments

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Email sent among graduate students Feb 4, 2020

On Friday, January 31st, Financial Aid sent out a form email to certain TAs and GSI claiming:

“_______ is among a group of about 50 students for whom the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office is required to retroactively reduce or eliminate fall quarter aid on Monday, February 3. This aid is from the U.S. Department of Education and/or the California Student Aid Commission with regulations which require us to take this action. This action will likely cause a bill to the student” (see screenshot for full email below)

We still maintain that the UC does not have to, should not, and potentially will not harm undergraduate students in this way, but we believe that continuing to have their grades withheld poses a substantial risk to the undergraduates who were listed on this email. 

To clarify: this only concerns the 50 students mentioned in the January 31st email, not earlier emails from Financial Aid. For the students included in earlier emails, you can still use the template below. See our earlier communication about these students.

If you have received this email (Jan 31st), we strongly suggest contacting the affected students with this information to ask them how they would like to proceed (those students should have received an email directly from the Financial Aid Office about this issue as well). You should only continue to withhold these students’ grades in the event that an undergraduate responds to you today stating affirmatively that they understand the risks and they still want their grade withheld. If students respond saying that they want their grade submitted, or do not respond at all by the end of the day today, their grades should be officially submitted. 

You can submit individual grades by logging into MyUCSC and submitting a partial grade roster. 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.

After you have submitted the requested grades, consider reaching out to affected students and let them know that you have responded to the situation. While undergraduate students have been generally understanding and supportive, their direct experience of the administration’s callousness and incompetence may provide yet another opportunity for building solidarity.

Solidarity,

Striking graduate students

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Dear UCSC Financial Aid Officers,

I confirm that [STUDENT’S NAME, STUDENT ID NUMBER] completed [COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE] in Fall 2019 with a passing grade (C- or higher). 

[NAME’S] actual grade will be sent to the Registrar once graduate students’ demands for a cost of living adjustment have been met.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[TEACHING ASSISTANT or INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD] for [COURSE], Fall 2019

To UCSC administrators, UCPath representatives, and UCSC graduate students,

Several graduate students were notified on Thursday and Friday that their paychecks would be delayed because of flaws in UCPath (click here to learn about problems with UCPath). Graduate students, like other low wage workers in Santa Cruz, typically live paycheck to paycheck, and our income stays in our bank account just long enough to pay our rent. This means that there are many graduate students who have just learned that their rent check will bounce (and thus, have to pay additional fees). This is just one more example of the vulnerabilities graduate students face at current wage levels.  

Graduate students have been underfunded for years, and the current system is unsustainable (despite the meager “needs-based scholarship” that Chancellor Larive announced last week). It should not be surprising that under these conditions the system will break, as we have witnessed over the last two months. Graduate students are now organizing for a full strike. Wildcat strikes historically arise out of unbearable conditions, and are a reflection of the collective power of workers who can’t take it anymore (learn about other wildcat strikes by clicking here). The UC has the power to change the lives of thousands of workers and students; on our campus, graduate students and the campus community are holding the UC accountable to enacting necessary change.
To GSIs, TAs, tutors, and readers: If you were not paid in full, please fill out this form (click here) or contact me so that I can file a grievance on your behalf (learn more about grievances related to UCPath by clicking here). Because our union only currently represents GSIs, TAs, tutors, and readers, I can only file a grievance on behalf of these student workers. However,all graduate students should request a same day pay check from the UCPath office (based on their recommendation from the December GSA/UAW meeting): contact payhelp@ucsc.edu or (831) 459-2488.

Signed, 
Veronica Hamilton, M. A.

Dear grads,

Yesterday the Financial Aid office emailed undergraduate students who are missing all grades for Fall 2019. This email instructed students to email the Financial Aid office with the name of the instructor for at least one of their Fall classes. According to the email, the Financial Aid office will then reach out to the instructor to confirm whether the student completed the course with a passing grade.

This email supports that our assessment of last week’s Financial Aid email was correct. It also means that:

• The January 10th deadline specified in last week’s email was not a hard deadline. The most recent email tells undergrads that they need to contact the Financial Aid office with the name of one course and the instructor’s name by January 31st. This means that the actual deadline by which the Financial Aid office needs proof of undergrads’ Fall quarter completion is even later than this. The January 10th deadline was likely given because they were expecting non-compliance and wanted to give themselves plenty of time (or, a more cynical view might hold that the administration deliberately gave us only two days to respond because they were hoping to cause panic that would undermine the strike).
• The Financial Aid office will contact students directly with details about how their aid may be impacted. This supports our stance that undergrads will have the most complete information about how they may be affected, and that we should defer to them about whether they want their grades to be submitted or not.

There is no need to officially submit grades to the Registrar in response to this email. The Financial Aid office is reaching out because they are required to confirm whether students receiving federal aid completed the previous quarter. According to federal policy, if a student earns a passing grade in at least one course during a given term, the university may presume that the student completed the course and thus completed the quarter. A letter grade is not necessary to confirm this; Financial Aid only needs to know whether the student passed at least one class. This is why the email was only sent to students missing all grades from last quarter. 

This email from Financial Aid may cause confusion and/or fear among undergrads. We encourage you to communicate openly with your students and share this information with them to help them understand how they may (or may not) be affected. We also encourage you to reiterate to your students that although you are available to answer any questions they may have, and talk through their situations with them if they so choose, they are not obligated to disclose any private information to you (including graduation date, probation status, or financial aid).

If students contact you about this, or the Financial Aid office reaches out to you or the instructor of record seeking information about these students, we suggest emailing Financial Aid using the template below.

In solidarity,

Roxy Davis, M.A.

Graduate Student, Department of Psychology

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Dear UCSC Financial Aid Officers,

I confirm that [STUDENT’S NAME, STUDENT ID NUMBER] completed [COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE] in Fall 2019 with a passing grade (C- or higher). 

[NAME’S] actual grade will be sent to the Registrar once graduate students’ demands for a cost of living adjustment have been met.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[TEACHING ASSISTANT or INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD] for [COURSE], Fall 2019

From UCSC Chancellor, Cynthia Larive, to UCSC Community:

January 27, 2020

In September, I shared with our community my vision for UC Santa Cruz and the four goals that would help us define success. The first two — solidifying our status as a research leader and promoting student success — go to the heart of ensuring our educational and research excellence, and are issues that I would like to address today.

Key to achieving these goals is strengthening and diversifying our graduate programs. Though graduate students in doctoral and masters of fine arts programs are supported through fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, the cost of housing in Santa Cruz County remains a financial burden for many. The ability of UC Santa Cruz to address this need is hampered because our campus ranks at the bottom of the UC system relative to the number of graduate housing units. We simply have nowhere near the number of units we need to support our graduate students.

If we are to continue to pioneer and transform research through the application of diverse perspectives, we must demonstrate our commitment by ensuring that we can attract and support the best qualified and most innovative graduate students. To that end, I am pleased to announce two new programs:

• First, beginning in fall 2020, we will offer new and continuing doctoral students support packages for five years (two years for MFA students). These packages will have a minimum level of support equivalent to that of a 50 percent teaching assistantship.
• Second, until more graduate-level student housing becomes available, we are instituting a need-based, annual housing supplement of $2,500 for doctoral and MFA students offered through a partnership between the Financial Aid Office and the Graduate Division.

These two new programs further enhance the overall financial package our doctoral and MFA students receive to assist them in their academic progress and pursuit of an advanced degree.

Also, integral to our commitment to educational excellence is our obligation to our undergraduate students, which requires that we do everything possible to ensure their success. We know that a degree from UC Santa Cruz has the potential to change the trajectory of lives. Unfortunately, recent actions by some graduate students to withhold or delete grades only hurts the very students who depend on us.

When students do not have grades, it can profoundly impact financial aid, as well as the ability of some students to enroll in needed classes, apply for graduation, or even declare a major. It also can impact requirements of student athletes, student veterans, and those under academic review. Withholding grades also makes it more difficult for us to work together on tangible steps that we can take to help address the core, underlying issue — our lack of affordable housing.

UC Santa Cruz has a proud history of activism, and the university is committed to ensuring that all people may exercise the constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, and assembly. And while I commend our students for drawing attention to a very real problem, I am extremely disappointed that some graduate students chose to do so in a way that was unsanctioned by their union and is harmful to our undergraduate students, many of whom are struggling themselves. As this grade strike continues, I am deeply concerned about the impact on undergraduates. Therefore, graduate students who do not submit grades by Feb. 2, 2020, will receive a written disciplinary warning in accordance with the UC/UAW contract. Students alleged to have deleted grades will receive a student conduct summons.

A lack of affordable housing is not a problem unique to Santa Cruz. It is endemic to California. I sympathize with students who are impacted by the lack of affordable housing locally, as well as the generally high cost of living here. I believe the introduction of these two new programs demonstrates a commitment to our graduate students and will make a significant and tangible impact on their lives.

There is no doubt that more work needs to be done and I’m looking forward to collaborating on new ways of addressing ongoing problems. UC Santa Cruz is on a great trajectory and I’m confident that by working together we will be able to continue to achieve educational and research excellence.