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Information about UC--UAW negotiations regarding UC Teaching Assistants
UC’s 13,000 teaching assistants (and other instructional assistants such as readers and tutors) play an important role in helping UC faculty fulfill UC’s instructional mission. UC values their contributions, as evidenced in part by the fact that their salaries, benefits and professional opportunities are among the best in public higher education.
Current compensation and professional opportunities at UC among best in higher education
- Salaries: Minimum of $14,200 for a nine-month work year at a 50% time appointment while enrolled at UC.
- Free Health Benefits: Fully employer-paid health benefits for any graduate student TA working a minimum of 25% time. Net savings to graduate student employees: $685-$1600 each year (depending on local health plans).
- No Fees: Fully employer-paid education and registration fees for any graduate student TA working a minimum of 25% time. Net savings to graduate student employees: approximately $5,200 each academic year.
- World-class learning: Opportunities to work with faculty at the world’s premier public research university.
Current Status of Negotiations
For the past six months, UC has been working with the United Auto Workers to try to reach an agreement that maintains UC’s practice of providing our teaching assistants some of the best possible terms of employment within available resources. In a good-faith attempt to reach an agreement before the contract expired on September 30, 2003, UC entered intensive negotiations with the UAW on September 28, 2003. While the discussions were substantive and some differences were narrowed, the parties were unable to reach an agreement on UC’s proposal to clarify the ‘No Strike’ provision to include a ban on sympathy strikes.
Important information about “Sympathy Strikes”
- Agreed to in other UC contracts: Several UC contracts, including those covering lecturers, librarians, police, janitors and patient care technical employees contain specific prohibitions against sympathy strikes. UC is asking that the UAW likewise agree to similar language.
- UC supports TAs right to free speech: UC has a long tradition of supporting the civil expression of individual views, and student employees are free to join in any demonstrations they choose, union-related or otherwise, so long as it is on their personal time and does not conflict with their teaching obligations under the contract. Just as the University must honor its contractual obligations, like paying agreed upon salaries and benefits, teaching assistants must honor their obligations.
- “No Strikes” means no strikes: As with all UC labor contracts, UC’s most current contract with the UAW contains a “No Strikes” provision which prohibits UC student employees from striking over their terms of employment during the contract. “No Strikes” clauses are standard in labor contracts, and are intended to help ensure labor peace between contract negotiations. However, some unions assert that such provisions do not prohibit their members from joining in the strikes of other unions (called “sympathy strikes”). Many employers, including UC, disagree, and believe that “no strikes” means no strikes, regardless of whose strike it is. To clarify this issue, UC is proposing that the UAW contract align with other UC contracts and include an explicit prohibition of sympathy strikes.
Clarification of illegal vs. legal strikes
The UAW has attempted to justify its strike activity based on unfair labor practice charges it has filed against UC. What should be made clear is that either side can file as many ULPs as they want and that the mere filing of ULPs does not justify striking. Only the state labor board has the authority to determine the validity of ULPs, and the legality of any strike based on them. At this point the union’s ULPs are still under review by the state labor board.
Since all settlement opportunities within the full bargaining process, including the impasse procedures, have not been exhausted as the law requires, any strike action at this point is not only very disruptive, but not permissible under the law.
