Dear Colleagues,
The labor strike between UCOP and the UAW came to an end on December 23rd when 62% of the ASEs and 68% of GSRs across the UC system ratified their negotiated contract (postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers ratified their negotiated contract on December 9th). The settlement included substantial pay raises: by October 1, 2024, the minimum 9-month salary for TAs with a half-time appointment at UC San Diego will be $34,000. Their package also includes paid tuition, fee remissions, benefits, childcare reimbursements, and transit passes.
The strike was an extremely difficult time for all of us. Relationships between mentors and mentees were strained as both graduate students and faculty negotiated their conflicting obligations. Many strikers feel the terms of the labor agreement were insufficient to cover the costs of living in Southern California, and some feel they have experienced retaliation for participating in the strike. Many faculty were required to take on extra labor and feel uncertain they will be able to stretch existing grant funds to cover the new salary scales. Everyone across campus is asking difficult – and so far unanswered – questions about how the outcome of the strike will affect graduate education going forward, and how trust can be restored between the university administration, the faculty, and the graduate students.
The Academic Senate is committed to making sure that faculty interests are represented in these discussions. We have begun the process of forming a Senate-Administration Work Group to rethink the graduate education model. Our goal is rebuilding our university community and restoring the important relations between faculty and graduate students that form the basis of our excellent research university. We stand by our students, who are our colleagues as fellow researchers and teachers. We ask all of you to consider what you can do to restore the UC San Diego community.
While we are committed to rebuilding the university community, the UC Office of the President has instituted a policy to recoup salary paid to those who withheld their labor during the strike. Forms requesting attestation of labor have been sent to all ASEs, GSRs, postdoctoral scholars, and academic researchers, with the intent of docking pay for periods when labor was withheld. Union members who withheld labor during the strike might be eligible to receive strike assistance from the UAW. Nevertheless, we know that this process will be distressing for many graduate students, who went on strike precisely because they were struggling financially. Faculty supervisors are not being asked to sign these forms. We urge patience and compassion throughout this process.
The UC administration is also sending Senate faculty attestation forms to identify those who withheld their labor during the strike, with the intent of docking pay. In this case, Senate faculty are not union members, and there is no mechanism for strike assistance. The guidance from UCOP makes clear that if faculty participated in activities in support of the strike, such as spending time on the picket line, but otherwise performed their teaching, research, and service work, they should not submit an attestation form and will not be considered to have missed work due to the strike. Senate faculty should exercise their conscience in reporting their efforts. In reality, faculty had little choice but to perform additional labor during the strike with the extra burden of research, instruction and grading in the absence of ASE and GSR support. We urge faculty to consider carefully the full extent of their labor provided during the strike; there is no need to file an attestation form if the faculty member has performed their duties to the university during the strike.
A critical issue for Senate faculty is whether grades were submitted. We are happy to report that over 97% of Fall grades have now been turned in. This remarkable feat shows that faculty have provided an enormous amount of extra unpaid labor. As has happened throughout COVID, faculty took up the burden of educational continuity, trying their best to support graduate students while meeting their obligations to the undergraduates. Despite the fact that faculty instructors were not required to take up struck labor, many labored over the holiday to finish grading and submit their grades once the strike was over. We have received assurance from the administration that faculty who were unable to finish their grading because their ASEs were on strike will not be sanctioned. If you need additional help to finish grading, please contact your department chair, school dean or provost to draw on available funding for grading assistance.
Our systemwide Senate leadership has provided additional guidance here:
