> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student Success Resource Center
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Struggle for a Living Wage
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Santa Cruz Grad-Student Strikers Didn’t Win a Pay Raise, but They Got Their Jobs Back

By  Vimal Patel
August 11, 2020
Graduate student Nathan Xavier Osorio pickets at the University of California, Santa Cruz on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Osorio is one of dozens of UCSC teaching assistants the university dismissed at the end of February in the midst of their campaign for higher wages. (Noah Berger for The Chronicle)
Noah Berger for The Chronicle
Nathan Xavier Osorio, on the picket line in March, is one of dozens of teaching assistants dismissed by the University of California at Santa Cruz as they campaigned for higher pay.

A dispute over a wildcat strike at the University of California at Santa Cruz is over.

The union representing the university’s graduate students announced on Tuesday that 41 students who had been fired will be reinstated, following roughly the same number getting their jobs back after another agreement last month.

Although this is a victory for workers, our struggle isn’t over.

The students had been withholding grades to pressure the university to give them a $1,400 monthly cost-of-living adjustment, an amount they

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

A dispute over a wildcat strike at the University of California at Santa Cruz is over.

The union representing the university’s graduate students announced on Tuesday that 41 students who had been fired will be reinstated, following roughly the same number getting their jobs back after another agreement last month.

Although this is a victory for workers, our struggle isn’t over.

The students had been withholding grades to pressure the university to give them a $1,400 monthly cost-of-living adjustment, an amount they said was necessary to live in an extremely expensive city like Santa Cruz. The strike had spread to other University of California campuses.

The union, United Auto Workers 2865, said the outcome was the product of the power of collective labor and “an international outpouring of support.” Indeed, the strike became a cause célèbre for graduate-student activists elsewhere and even received a supportive tweet from Bernie Sanders, then the front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. “Although this is a victory for workers, our struggle isn’t over,” said Veronica Hamilton, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in social psychology and a union representative, in a statement on Tuesday, “The conditions which necessitated COLA remain.”

In an interview she said that the union will continue to argue for a cost-of-living increase through the bargaining process, and also seek to remove student-conduct disciplinary actions related to the strike from the files of activists.

ADVERTISEMENT

University officials noted that the deal leaves things roughly where they were in January, when officials announced a five-year funding guarantee and a $2,500 housing-stipend increase to respond to concerns about grad-student living costs. The university maintained throughout the strike that it would not negotiate with wildcat strikers, arguing that doing so would violate the collective-bargaining process.

“There is no debate that those who were terminated violated their contract by withholding grades,” said Chancellor Cynthia Larive and Provost Lori Kletzer, in a joint public statement. “These terminations were not unfair or unexpected as ample notice was provided and opportunities to submit grades were offered right up to the deadline — a deadline long after grades were due.”

The new deal, the leaders wrote, is an important step toward moving beyond the discord of the strike. “We recognize that it will take time and continued action to rebuild trust with our community, particularly with those who supported the wildcat strike,” the chancellor and provost wrote. “Our graduate students must thrive if our campus is to succeed in its mission.”

The coronavirus pandemic dampened the activists’ expectations, as the health crisis sucked public attention away from their protest and the physical act of picketing became unsafe. The pandemic also made the lives of the activist strikers even more precarious, making it more attractive to compromise for their jobs.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Graduate EducationThe Workplace
Vimal Patel
Vimal Patel, a reporter at The New York Times, previously covered student life, social mobility, and other topics for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin