Dear Colleagues,
As you may be aware, the UC Academic Workers (UAW) union, which includes graduate students, postdocs, fellows and other workers, are considering going on strike next month.
This website provides information on the reasons for the possible strike—including and especially fair compensation and cost of living adjustments in a time of unprecedented inflation—as well as the full list of demands, the current state of negotiations, and the timeline on voting for the strike.
Voting on the strike begins October 26th and continues through November 2nd. Should the measure pass, the vote authorizes the bargaining team to call a strike as early as November 14th, if circumstances justify.
While the negotiations are ongoing, and before voting concludes, faculty are being asked to support the student workers in the following ways:
- Sign on to this letter supporting the demands of the academic workers (the letter is labeled for undergrads but the form allows you to indicate that you are a faculty member)
- Contact University leadership (Chancellor, UCOP, etc.) and demand that they bargain in good faith (template letter available here)
- Donate to the hardship fund: https://givebutter.com/uc-uaw
- Discuss with undergraduate students the critical role that academic workers play in the everyday functions of the university
Other suggestions for supportive actions can be found here.
We encourage you to read the Fair UC Now website carefully, and sign the above-linked letter in support of our academic workers.
Sincerely,
The Board of the RFA
Farah Godrej, Political Science (Chair)
Patricia Morton, Media and Cultural Studies (Vice-Chair)
Helen Regan, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (Treasurer)
Chris Chase-Dunn, Sociology
Uma Jayakumar, Graduate School of Education
Quinn McFrederick, Entomology
Setsu Shigematsu, Media and Cultural Studies
Stephanie Ann-Wilms Simpson, University Writing Program
Samantha Ying, Environmental Sciences
Patricia Morton, Media and Cultural Studies (Vice-Chair)
Helen Regan, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (Treasurer)
Chris Chase-Dunn, Sociology
Uma Jayakumar, Graduate School of Education
Quinn McFrederick, Entomology
Setsu Shigematsu, Media and Cultural Studies
Stephanie Ann-Wilms Simpson, University Writing Program
Samantha Ying, Environmental Sciences