Legal/logistical advice about Sept 24, 2009 walkout, by Mike Rotkin

Dear UC Colleagues,

You should be aware that on Thursday, September 24, 2009, on every UC campus, our sister UC union, the Union of Professional and Technical Workers (UPTE) will be holding an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Strike over violations of the MOU and/or state labor law, as opposed to what is known as an "economic strike" of the kind that occurs after the termination of an MOU or Contract. There will almost certainly be picket lines at the entrance of every UC Campus. Public transportation, campus construction and deliveries, and other services may be affected. On most campuses, there will be a large rally at noon in support of the walkout.

The events of the day have now broadened significantly as the Senate faculty leadership on most, if not all, of the UC campuses are calling for a walkout on September 24, the same day. Beyond UPTE’s ULP strike issues, the UC labor Coalition, the Academic Senate faculty, and student groups are all calling for UC employees to support the walkout in whatever way they can. Issues include (partial list!):

• Support for our sisters and brothers in UPTE.

• A defense of undergraduate education at UC, which is currently being decimated by the Administration in the name of what we believe are unnecessary budget cuts.

• The lack of transparency in the UC budget process at every level, and the lack of serious consultation with the Academic Senate and other employees over critical budget decisions.

• The unnecessary doubling of student fees over the past five years, which will make UC, ostensibly a public institution, unaffordable by working families in California, and particularly families of color and other low-income residents.

• The destruction of student support, technical support, library, and other support services which are necessary for the academic mission of the University.

• The corporatization of the University, which results in support for UC profit centers and compensation for top executives at the cost of the academic mission of the University.

• And most generally, the wrongheaded UC priorities that support new construction, compensation increases and perks for top executives, and the launching of new business-oriented initiatives at the same time that essential UC academic and support functions are being cut drastically.

During the next week, you will be receiving flyers and other information for students, employees, and the public explaining the walkout, the issues that created it, and how interested individuals and groups can participate in an effective way. Classroom teachers will receive more detailed information on how you will get the materials necessary to pass out to your students before class the first day and that you can post around your office door for interested students to read.

The UC-AFT encourages our members and supporters and the UC workers whom we represent to support the September 24, 2009 walkout. However, you do need to be aware that there are some restrictions on what you can and cannot do to support this walkout.

Under Unit 18 and 17 MOUs (contracts), Lecturers and Librarians are not allowed to “withhold their labor” in sympathy with UPTE workers or in support of the walkout. You may not simply refuse to show up at work unless you honestly feel that crossing the picket line would put you at physical risk for your personal safety. Don't misread this provision as a purely subjective issue. Should you choose this option, you might well be forced to defend it in court and capricious use of this “excuse” might put your job in jeopardy.

However, you should also be aware of the following:

1) Nothing in our MOU or any other rules at UC prohibit you from exercising your First Amendment rights to speak out and/or demonstrate your support for UPTE workers or for the more general goals of the walkout. If it does not conflict with your work obligations, you have every right to walk on a picket line, write leaflets, speak out to your colleagues and/or students about your views on labor relations and/or budget priorities at UC in general or with respect to UPTE in particular. You can go to the picket line or do other strike support work on your breaks or when you are not teaching. You can wear buttons or tee shirts or express your views in a variety of media.

2) You may not cancel your classes, or duty on Library desks, etc. on the 24th of September (unless, of course, you go to class and no one shows up). As an “instructor of record” for your class, you have the right and the responsibility to decide about the best way to deliver instruction to your students. You may decide, for example, that the picket lines will make it difficult for your students to get to class and, therefore, you might decide to move your classes off campus. You could also simply meet at the entrance of campus on the other side of the picket line. The weather will probably be good and this might be a good solution for many classes. (Unless your course is about labor issues or one of the many issues raised by the broader walkout, I would not suggest that you require your students to meet on the picket line). However, as the instructor of record, you do have the right to decide if the issues raised in the strike are directly relevant to what you are teaching.

3) What you may not do under your MOU is to urge other faculty or staff to withhold their labor or withhold your own. You simply must do the best you can to meet your teaching or work obligations. For example, office hours at the beginning of the quarter are particularly important, and I think that students will have a very hard time getting to my office, so I intend to hold office hours at the entrance of campus and to let as many students as possible know that they will be able to find me there.

4) You can expect various emails and missives from the Administration
making a variety of threats if you don't meet your class in its regular location and time. They may suggest that there are “liability issues” if you don't meet in a regular classroom. As long as you exercise reasonable care in where your class meets (not in the middle of a freeway please!), and as long as you are doing your best to deliver instruction to your students under the difficult conditions that a strike/walkout presents, you will not be liable for anything that you would not be liable for in teaching a class in your normal classroom. As long as you make a reasonable attempt to meet your class, you cannot be fired or disciplined in any way. If you think you are receiving any threats about your responsibilities during the strike that are not being received by everyone else in your Division, please let your UC-AFT Field Representative or a local officer know about it.

5) Please follow the above guidelines. If you do try to withhold your labor, please know that the UC-AFT does not encourage it (we face substantial fines if we do), and you are putting yourself at risk, since your contract does not protect sympathy strikes.

Within these guidelines, please do everything you can to support our sisters and brothers in UPTE and the broader educational, social justice, and labor issues raised by this walkout.

Mike Rotkin
Statewide Vice President for Organizing
UC-AFT

Michelle Squitieri
Field Representative
UC-AFT Local 1474
(510) 841-1609
(510) 384-6727 c