UCLA has been called up to strike. WHAT NEXT?
UCLA and UC Davis will join UC Santa Cruz on a sanctioned strike starting Tuesday.
On May 23, CA’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) DENIED the UC’s injunction against our strike, confirming that our strike is legally protected. THIS MEANS OUR STRIKE IS LEGAL!
DOES THIS MEAN THERE IS NO NEED FOR A WILDCAT? Not yet, at least—since the Strike Authorization Vote passed and UAW 4811 called UCLA to strike, this is now a sanctioned, legally protected strike, not a wildcat.
We know that our demands are more expansive than 4811’s, and that our leadership has been signaling their willingness to concede on key demands to reach a quick agreement with the UC. If/when this happens, we should be prepared to reject any concessionary agreement and ESCALATE.
A wildcat strike is not officially endorsed by the union. It can be an effective tactic when undemocractic leadership refuses to listen to membership, forcing them to eventually endorse the strike & agree to more militant demands. SEE Dana Frank’s “A Brief History of Wildcat Strikes”
Whittling down demands through the exclusion of Cops Off Campus as well as through a “stand up” strike demobilizes the radical energy across the UC sparked by the encampments. Source: “Abolish the Peace Police! Spread the strike!” @abolishtheuc
DISRUPT BUSINESS AS USUAL: picket, participate in direct actions, organize your coworkers to join the strike
The bottom line is: It’s up to us as rank and file members to decide how we want to escalate, what the strike will look like, and when it should end. Attend popular assemblies. Join the organizing efforts. Let’s ready the strike at UCLA!
We owe it to our friends, colleagues, ourselves, and the Palestinian people to push beyond what our union is asking of us.
Why strike? UAW 4811 is uniquely positioned to push the UC to divest from the occupation and genocide of Palestine. The power of student workers shutting down business as usual brings the struggle beyond the encampments and contributes to the wider momentum against US complicity.
LABOR WITHHOLDING (GSR): don’t submit research deliverables, attend lab meetings, provide project updates, report progress to your PI, or train undergrads or fellow grad students; don’t conduct lab work or field work except to prevent catastrophic loss of research
WHAT WILL STRIKING LOOK LIKE?
1. LABOR WITHHOLDING (ASE): Don’t hold classes, discussion sections, or office hours (on campus, off campus, or online); don’t assign homework, grade assignments, or submit grades; don’t attend work meetings.
