As early as September 2019, organizers as part of the GSA, UAW2865, and from across campus have been calling for a Cost of Living Adjustment. The demand has been repeatedly presented to UCSC administration without equivocations. We demand:
A Cost of Living Adjustment for every graduate student, regardless of residence, visa, documentation, employment or funding status, to bring us:
- Out of rent burden
- Without raising tuition or campus fees
- With a guarantee of non-retaliation
At current rates, this amounts to an additional monthly payment of $1,412.
Here is a timeline of significant events in the campaign.
November 7 – Action #1: Putting the University on Notice March
200 grads march to Kerr Hall to put the university on notice, delivering our demands to Chancellor Cynthia Larive and Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer verbally and in written form.
November 12 – Action #2: Camp-out at the Base of Campus
Nearly 80 people participate in a campout at the base of campus to strategize and to make our demands visible during the Regents visit.
December 5 – Action #3: Speak Out CANCELLED
Though tensions between graduate students and campus administrators have been high since the beginning of our COLA campaign, they reached a fever pitch yesterday after a very public email exchange occurred between the Executive Vice Chancellor and a graduate student. After this graduate student sent an email to the Chancellor and EVC asking that they take immediate action on COLA, the EVC responded with intimidation, directing him to a linked copy of the student conduct handbook, a move that enraged and emboldened the entirety of the graduate student body (who were, again, all cc’ed on this correspondence). Soon, dozens and dozens of angry emails from rent-burdened graduate students began flooding the inboxes of administrators (and fellow students). It was in these mass email exchanges that calls for a strike began.
6 out of 7 elected union leaders officially resign from their positions that evening.
December 6 – Strike poll
A strike poll is circulated among UCSC graduate students. Out of over 450 responses to the poll, over 350 are currently employed TAs or GSIs. 80% of currently working grads responded to the poll. Out of currently working grad students, 285 are ready to strike now. There are a further 100 grad students who are not currently working who responded in favor of striking.
December 7 – UCSC Faculty start a petition in support of COLA that reached over 150 signatures in just two days
December 8 – Strike Assembly
Over 250 graduate students, in person and via Zoom, attended the strike Assembly meeting organized and announced only 24 hours prior. A vast majority of grads voted to strike immediately and withhold final grades!
December 9th – First Day of the Strike
Students rally at McHenry library to commemorate the beginning of the strike! Video here
December 10 – Demands Meeting
Over 200 grads, undergrads, faculty, and lecturers, rallied at Humanities 210 for an open meeting with administration (specifically Vice Provost Quentin Williams), who had previously promised to engage with the COLA campaign. They did not show up, and later sent a message that they refused to meet with us on bogus grounds. Since they have refused to meet with us, the strike goes on!
December 17 – Press Conference/Rally
Grads, faculty, and students gathered in front of Kerr Hall the day before grades are due to speak out on living conditions in Santa Cruz without a COLA, what the administration should do, and how the wildcat strike is inspiring similar actions in Santa Cruz and across all the UCs.
December 18 – Grade Submission Deadline
We did not submit! Since the admin up to this point had refused to even meet with grads around COLA, grades were withheld for the Fall quarter.
January 9 – Student-Worker-Power Rally and General Assembly
A general meeting was called to discuss plans for COLA in the Winter quarter, where the current progress of the strike was reported on and almost 200 grads voted to escalate the strike in some way. On the same day, an undergraduate led rally to support grads striking for a COLA took place at Kerr Hall, where almost 400 grads, undergrads, and striking AFSCME workers were in attendance.
January 20 – Strike Poll Results Released
After circulating a poll via email the previous week (with a total of 859 respondents), the results were released with the results that Winter quarter graduate students had also voted to withhold grades and perform a sick out strike on the 22nd to protest the Regents Day activities in San Francisco!
January 22 – Regent’s Day Action
UCSC grad students were out sick and turned up to the Regent’s Day action at UCSF, as well as the corresponding Community Day at UCSC, to protest the UC Regent’s meeting with music, food, screenprinting, and community building. Down south at UCSB, a solidarity sick out strike also took place. COLA 4 All!
January 30 – General Assembly
Over 270 graduate students met in real and virtual space to discuss recent intimidation and threats of discipline from the Chancellor, including summons for “possible rules violations” among striking graduate students. Grads reasserted the need to continue withholding Fall 2019 grades and their commitment to withhold Winter 2020 grades. A majority of attendees indicated that they were in favor of organizing towards a full graduate student strike beginning Monday, February 10.
February 5 – Disciplinary Warnings sent to TAs
TAs receive “Written Warnings for Withholding Undergraduate Grades” en masse threatening retaliation against strikers. More info in the GSA president’s response to these threats.
February 10 – Full Strike begins!
Hundreds of grads, undergrads, faculty, and other supporters turn out to the base of campus and West entrance in a picket that marks the beginning of our open-ended, full teaching strike. Despite a heavy UCPD and CHP police presence, one arrest, one citation, and police violence against protesters, the strikers manage to shut down campus and host food, music, speeches, button-making, and dancing. Across all the UC’s, solidarity actions take place that indicated that no campus will settle for not being paid enough to live and work! More info: Monday Strike Update
February 11 – Strike continues; COLA reps meet with admin
The strike and picket continues. Police numbers increase. Lori Kletzer and Quentin Williams grant a meeting with three graduate students and two faculty members, despite their previous, longheld stance that they “could not” meet with COLA organizers or campus union reps. In the meeting, they offer a future “substantive meeting,” where we might discuss financial resources, should we call off the strike. In that day’s General Assembly, grads, of course, did not see this as sufficient to call off the strike. More info: Tuesday Strike Update
February 12 – Police violently arrest 16 peaceful student protesters
February 13 – Strike continues; STEM grads march for COLA
February 14 – Undergrads march on Kerr Hall; Napolitano threatens mass TA dismissal
As the strike and picket continues at the base of campus, the People’s Coalition holds a general undergraduate assembly at the Quarry Amphitheater to formulate demands and mobilize undergrads in support of COLA for all. Hundreds of undergrads then march on Kerr Hall to present those demands to UCSC administration before marching down to join the picket at the base.
Later that evening, UC president Janet Napolitano, via EVC Lori Kletzer, demand that striking grads release grades and stop striking by end of day Feb 21, or face disciplinary action and dismissal from current and/or Spring TA appointments, thus threatening hundreds of jobs and the educational functioning of the entire university.
February 18 – Week 2 of picketing begins; Grad General Assembly
Grad students had a General Assembly on Tuesday, February 18, 5:15-7:30pm in Oakes 105, to discuss our response to the egregious threats of mass TA dismissal from UCOP. We decided to continue discussion this week before reaching a collective decision about submitting Fall grades on Friday, Feb 21. More info >
February 19 – Faculty Senate votes in support of COLA
Two resolutions in support of COLA pass resoundingly, each with over 75% support. Faculty with decades of experience at UCSC have told us this was the best attended Faculty Senate meeting they have ever seen.
The first calls for the removal and erasure of data from the form used to surveil faculty. The second is in support of higher grad wages, the withdrawal of sanctions/discipline from striking student’s records, and ensuring departmental autonomy in hiring TAs, while advocating for a meaningful resolution to the strike. Read the Senate’s statement here.
February 20 – UCI Rally • Reddit IAmA
Over 200 UC Irvine graduate students and supporters marched and rallied in solidarity with UCSC strikers and to call attention to the high cost of living in Irvine. In response, the Chancellor’s office refused to meet with students, locked down the administration building for 48 hours, and created a hostile environment with heightened police presence. UCI Police used force on several students, even arresting a Black woman unaffiliated with the action who was merely attempting to retrieve a copy of their transcript.
On Thursday, Feb 20, 1-3pm, UCSC wildcat strikers hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything)—an open forum for the public to ask striking grad students any questions they want about the COLA campaign. It was hosted on r/IAmA, which has a membership of 19.8 million. Many hard questions were answered, and it accumulated over 1,000 comments. Read the questions, answers, and discussions >
February 21 – Doomsday
Friday, Feb 21 Doomsday Rally at the base of campus. Hundreds of grads, undergrads, staff, faculty, lecturers, and townies marched to the picket line to demonstrate our collective strength in the face of threats of mass dismissal.
At our Doomsday General Assembly that evening, strikers voted overwhelmingly to continue withholding Fall grades beyond Janet Napolitano’s midnight deadline. Hundreds of UCSC grads have pledged to refuse Spring TA appointments in the event of mass firings.
February 24 – UCSB votes to full strike; Clarifications from Lori
UCSB graduate students vote to go on a full strike for COLA starting Thursday, Feb 27!
UCSC EVC Lori Kletzer release a series of “clarifications” on the terms of her mass firing threat: Their $2500 program is not an offer; not a COLA. Also, doomsday has been delayed—they will verify grade submission on Thursday.
February 27 – UCSB begins full teaching strike • UCD begins grading strike • Radical March/Teach-In • Doomsday 2.0 • Protesters disrupt Napolitano’s speech about campus protesting at SpeechMatters 2020
Our statewide union, UAW 2865, files an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against the University of California for refusing to meet with the union to negotiate COLA, while at the same time seeking to engage in unlawful bargaining directly with individual students and organizations (such as the UC Graduate and Professional Council). Read the UAW’s statement on the ULP here.
February 28 – Approximately 82 TAs are fired for withholding Fall grades
54 TAs who already received appointments receive dismissal letters. And approximately 28 others (from departments who assign TAships late in the quarter) are told they “will no longer be considered” for Spring appointments.
March 5 – UC-Wide Blackout
At UCSC, entrances to campus are blocked beginning at about 4:30 am. Flexible blockades are set up at Heller Drive and Koshland Way (just after Family Student Housing), and Coolidge and Hagar (just after Faculty Staff Housing) to ensure free access for families in both FSHs. Classes were cancelled and the campus was closed! Though we offered free strike taxis for those needing transport, and ensured anyone who needed to cross could.
March 9 – UCB votes to full strike; Rolling picket week begins; Statewide circulates petition to ULP strike
UC Berkeley votes to go on a full strike starting next Monday, March 16!
UCSB organizers liberate a dining hall!
For the final week of the quarter, March 9-13, the UCSC picket line advances from the base of campus, to different locations across campus in a rolling picket. We begin on Monday at McHenry at 9am and roll through to the the Academic Resource Center (ARC). We occupied ARC in solidarity with the Undocu Collective, whose demands for basic resources, better administration, and an adequate center for undocumented students, have been ignored by UCSC.
Statewide union UAW 2865 leadership announce that graduate students across the UC system have voted overwhelmingly (97% of respondents) to ratify union demands to reopen contract negotiations and to fight for COLA across the state. Leadership begins circulating a pledge to gauge support for moving to an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Strike.
March 10 – Sit-in at Earth and Marine Sciences; UCSC goes online-only
Held a sit-in at the Earth and Marine Sciences Building, beginning at 9am to organize, study, and plan.
UCSC announces that they are suspending in-person classes in response to coronavirus (COVID-19) until at least April 3.
The rest of the week’s rallies, sit-ins and other large events are cancelled in light of health concerns. Efforts refocus on the digital picket.
March 29 – UC offers a “Last Chance Agreement” to grads who withheld Fall grades and were fired from or denied Spring appointments, promising that if they submit grades and promise to never participate in wildcat actions by 5pm the same day, they will be reinstated. Striking grads responded with a counter-offer.
March 30 – UC Irvine grad students begin a social welfare strike; Strike University launches
UCI grads begin a social welfare strike (as voted on at their March 19 General Assembly), which means they will not be conducting business/class/work as usual but instead focusing all efforts on tending to the food, housing, and other needs of all UCI students and workers
Strike University, a digital initiative created by COLA organizers across the UCs, that aims to provide public education that is free and accessible for everyone, launches.
April 10 – ULP Strike Statewide Day of Action
12-4pm over Zoom. Grads across the UCs spend the day organizing and phone banking for a ULP strike.
April 12 – UCSC hosts Strike University
May 1 – May Day – UC General Strike
COLA strikers in Santa Cruz hosted a May Day Caravan on Friday, 12pm-4:30. This was a slow-moving, socially-distant action using car and bike transit. Starting in the Oakes parking lot, it moved to Family Student Housing, the Barn Theater, Santa Cruz County Jail, Food Not Bombs station at Laurel & Front St, ending at the Seabright Whole Foods parking lot. Recorded segments were broadcast at each stop, to be eventually released as a special COLAfornia Dreaming podcast episode. Read more on the Facebook Event Page or the announcement post on this site.