Grad union to vote on two-day walkout tonight
By Betty Song
At a general membership meeting tonight, walkout committee
members of the Student Association of Graduate Employees (SAGE)
will decide whether or not to call a two-day stike next week.
A nine-member walkout committee was created and authorized at
the last membership meeting in March to call a strike. However,
this could only occur on the condition that the the committee
continues efforts to negotiate with Chancellor Charles Young, who
has the authority to voluntarily recognize the union. Secondly, the
committee must gather at least 1,000 signatures from
walkout-supporting union members.
"Given everything that’s happened  our repeated attempts
to negotiate, seeing that we have 1,100 signatures  it’s
possible to do a walkout," said committee member Darlene Rodrigues.
"I don’t know what other types of actions will get us what we
need."
A strike is now tentatively set for April 26 and 27 of fourth
week. The committee also has the authority to call for lesser
action such as a sit-in, information picket or another teach-out
where graduate employees would hold job action outside of the
classrooms.
"We’ll make recommendations (to the general membership), there
will be discussion and planning on what to do in the future,"
Rodrigues said.
So far, the walkout committee members’ efforts to meet with
Young have only elicited responses by the graduate division which
has been designated to deal with union issues according to the
chancellor’s office.
In addition, responses from Young and the grad division
Associate Dean Kathleen Komar have only reiterated the chancellor’s
position that the matter of union recognition will be handled by
the courts.
Currently, a hearing pending in the California’s Public
Employment Relations Board concerning SAGE and other UC campus
unions will determine the administration’s legal obligation to
recognize the union.