The UAW “Stand Up” strike has arrived at UCSB.
We invite all senate faculty to read CUCFA’s FAQs so you can learn about your rights and obligations regarding the strike.
We would also like to correct and clarify some misleading communications by the EVC Office to faculty of May 16, May 29, and May 31.
While the May 16 email correctly declares that “the University of California disagrees with the UAW’s claims” and “does not consider this strike as lawful,” this communication fails to acknowledge that UC’s position about the strike is of no consequence because the sole authority that can declare the strike lawful or unlawful is the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
In all three communications, we also noticed a deceptive tendency to associate faculty with terms such as “supervisor” or “manager.” As UCOP’s own UAW 2024 FAQs sheet recognizes, faculty are not supervisors or managers under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) of 1979. We regard the repetition of these terms in EVC Office communications as misleading, potentially creating the impression that faculty have particular duties that supersede HEERA’s protections. In contrast, we recommend that faculty consult this analysis of UC’s claims by UC legal scholars, and we invite the EVC Office to stop communicating erroneous and confusing information. Our supervisory responsibilities regarding Teaching Assistants and researchers do not cancel out our rights to honor a picket line and refuse to pick up struck work.
We understand that according to APM documents faculty is ultimately “responsible for instruction and grading in their courses” (May 16). Yet, our HEERA rights to not pick up struck labor and to honor a picket line, enshrined in state law, have precedence over UC policies including the APM, the Faculty Code of Conduct and Regents Policy 2301. If a faculty member decides not to cross that picket line and not to pick up struck work, they are under no obligation to finalize grades until the strike is over.
We further offer the following counterpoints to specific statements made by the EVC Office:
- The EVC Office states: “We understand that adjustments might be needed to deliver instruction and enable students to complete their coursework if some graduate student labor is withheld, but it is the responsibility of instructors of record and department chairs to devise reasonable plans.” (May 16 and similar on 31)
- Our response: faculty have a protected right not to make any adjustment to their teaching that would effectively amount to picking up struck work from their ASEs if they choose to exercise that right.
- The EVC Office states: “Some faculty may need to make alternative arrangements to allow undergraduates to complete courses” (May 29 and similar on 31)
- Our response: We find no specific provision in the APM obliging faculty to “devise reasonable plans” or “make alternative arrangements” to ensure the completion of the course, if they choose not to pick up struck work. No such provision or obligation is stated in the APM; not even in APM 245 Appendix A, which defines the duties of chairs. If you wish to respond to a Chair’s request that a faculty member pick up the struck labor of striking TAs and grade their class, the following CUCFA Instructional Continuity Response Template may be helpful.
Our last correction pertains to statements regarding chairs. Unlike Deans, AVCs, and EVCs, chairs are neither “supervisors” nor “managerial employees.” Their duties are defined by the APM mentioned above 245 Appendix A, which nowhere asserts that chairs have an obligation to:
- “assist in verifying the accuracy of student employee leave reporting.” (May 16)
- “devise reasonable plans […] to enable students to complete their coursework” (May 16)
- “be added to a course taught by a striking Associate.” (May 29)
We are open to evaluating EVC Office responses that can show us regulations or other evidence supporting their language and claims. Until that time, we will continue to monitor the EVC Office’s communications and maintain that while the university may have certain expectations of faculty, and faculty have a right to make arrangements to complete and grade their courses, they are under no contractual obligation to do so and cannot be punished for refusing to pick up struck work, including grading. For a detailed and up-to-date analysis, see the UC Faculty Organizing Group Grading Guidelines.
The SBFA board is united in finding merit in UAW’s ULP charges and in supporting UAW’s demands for UC to drop charges and all disciplinary procedures against their members. We demand that amnesty be extended to all 278 people arrested on UC campuses for taking part in demonstrations and occupations denouncing the brutality of Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Finally, we join UAW in calling for UC to ensure that political speech is protected on our campuses and administrators take seriously requests about making funding sources public and divesting from the military industry.
The SBFA Board