Class will be dismissed for hundreds of students today as many
teaching assistants, readers and tutors throughout the University
of California participate in a one-day strike against what they
call unfair labor practices.
The strike will be coordinated by the United Auto Workers local
division that represents 10,000 workers at the eight undergraduate
UC campuses.
The UAW filed 64 unfair labor practices against the university
for bargaining in bad faith. Some of these alleged practices
include surface bargaining ““ the practice of passing
proposals back and forth without making real changes ““ and
shifting justifications by the university, said Beth Rayfield, a
spokeswoman for UAW.
The union decided to strike after negotiations broke down Sept.
30, the day the union’s contract expired.
“We wanted to react quickly after negotiations broke
down,” Rayfield said, adding that the university had an
obligation to bargain in good faith.
But university officials believed the union’s grievances
did not have merit.
“We believe that we are offering very fair proposals …
especially in light of the budget cuts,” said UC spokesman
Paul Schwartz. “(The union) can file as many (unfair labor
practices) as it wants; it does not mean they have any
merit.”
Schwartz also questioned the legality of the strike, as the law
requires the entire bargaining process to be completed before
strikes can be coordinated.
Though Rayfield did not know exactly how many union members
would be participating in the strike, she said a “strong
majority” of workers are expected to picket around the
state.
UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale warned of a potential strike in
a letter sent to university officials Thursday.
“In the event of a strike, all UCLA faculty and staff are
expected to meet their obligations,” the letter stated.
At UCLA, TAs and other union members will be picketing at the
corner of Westwood Boulevard and Le Conte Avenue throughout the
day.
Though some TAs declined to say if they will be striking, others
made it public that they will not be teaching as scheduled.
Michael Stone, a political science TA, announced during a
lecture Thursday that his section will be cancelled due to the
strike.
Other TAs, however, gave no notice to students or professors,
leaving many professors guessing whether course discussions will
take place.
“We are not supposed to ask them and since we’re not
supposed to ask, I would have no way of knowing (if discussions
will be held),” said Professor Michael North, whose English
10C course has six discussion sections scheduled for today.
Harlan Lebo, a spokesman for the College of Letters &
Science, said he could not speculate whether the strike would
affect the functioning of the College.
Students were grateful for the free time, but expressed concern
about falling behind.
“I need that section,” said Karin Miyazaki, a
third-year physiological sciences student.
She said she did not know whether her physiological science
discussion had been cancelled
“I am already behind though its only first week,”
she said.