Dear UC Davis Senate Faculty,
You likely have heard that UAW 4811 has called on its members at UC Davis to “stand up” on Tuesday, May 28, and go on strike. The UAW is striking over alleged UC unfair labor practices (ULPs) in violation of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA). A strike over severe ULPs is protected by the HEERA even when there is a general no-strike clause in the union’s contract. It is the California Public Employee Relations Board (PERB), not the UC, that determines the legality of the strike. Last Thursday, PERB denied the University’s request for injunctive relief.
We have been hearing from faculty who have questions about their rights and responsibilities at this moment. We are aware that you may have received administration emails about faculty responsibility for instructional continuity that imply faculty should perform graduate students’ labor during this strike. Faculty in fact have flexibility in how we respond to the strike. Under the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA), “faculty can decline to perform struck work that is outside our customary duties.” Our campus hires graduate student ASEs because we have determined that the faculty alone cannot do that labor. As faculty, we too wish for educational continuity that would allow us to meet UC’s educational missions, but it is up to the UC administration to create a work environment that allows for such continuity. We encourage the University to resolve this labor conflict between itself and the graduate students so that we can get back to providing the robust education our students deserve.
The UC Davis Faculty Association wants to share abbreviated guidance with faculty so you are aware of your rights. Below are a few FAQs that are derived from the Council of UC Faculty Association’s (CUCFA’s) more extensive list of FAQs which can be found here:
1. Can I respect a picket line? Will I be protected? (CUCFA FAQs #6 & #10)
YES. Senate faculty are protected by the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) (see Govt Code Section 3562e). The university may choose to withhold the pay of Senate faculty for their time respecting UAW’s picket line. It would, however, be unlawful for the university to dock additional pay or take other disciplinary action against faculty for exercising their protected rights. The UC may try to claim that if the UAW strike is determined to be unlawful, these protections may not apply, but PERB has not found that an employer can discipline workers who are honoring a picket line with other workers who are engaged in an unprotected strike.
2. If I respect the picket line, will it help anything at all? (CUCFA FAQ #6)
YES. Senate faculty can help strengthen the strike if they respect the picket line. They can also accelerate resolution of the strike by putting pressure on the administration to negotiate with the union.
3. If I chair a department or head a program, can I respect picket lines? (CUCFA FAQs #6 & #10)
YES. Department chairs and program heads have the same rights in this regard as regular Senate Faculty (see above FAQ #1)
4. Will I violate the Faculty Code of Conduct if I respect a picket line? (CUCFA FAQ #9)
NO. The Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA) does not understand the Faculty Code of Conduct as prohibiting conduct protected under HEERA, including respecting a picket line. The Faculty Code of Conduct recognizes the constitutionally protected rights of Senate faculty to freedom of expression.
5. Am I required to perform the labor of those academic workers (postdocs, researchers, TAs, GSIs) who go on strike, such as teaching their classes or sections? (CUCFA FAQ #5)
NO. Under HEERA, senate faculty can DECLINE to perform struck work that is outside our customary duties. Performing struck labor undermines faculty welfare, as it requires that we give up our own legal protections and suggests to both students and the administration that we can continue to do our jobs without the labor of striking workers. It also ultimately undermines our undergraduates who benefit from having TAs who are assured safe environments to work.
6. Am I required to ask my lecturer and adjunct colleagues to do the work of striking TAs? (CUCFA FAQ #12)
NO. Non-Senate and contingent faculty have the SAME rights as senate faculty to DECLINE to perform struck labor.
7. Is it true that faculty currently working with TAs or GSRs cannot honor the picket line because they are supervisors? (CUCFA FAQ #8)
NO. Senate faculty do not become “supervisory employees,” a legal term of art under HEERA, by virtue of supervising GSRs and GSIs as part of faculty teaching and research duties; as a result, faculty retain full HEERA rights. For a more detailed explanation, see this memo by several UC labor law scholars. When faculty do exercise some supervisory authority, they must not interfere with or retaliate for GSRs’ and GSIs’ exercise of their own HEERA rights, including the right to strike or not strike.
8. Should I include lecturers’ decisions about respecting a picket line or performing struck work when considering them for reappointment?
NO. That would constitute UNLAWFUL retaliation and would VIOLATE both HEERA and the UC-AFT Unit 18 faculty collective bargaining agreement.
Again, for further guidance, please consult the recent (May 13, 2024) CUCFA FAQs here.
If you feel confused or intimidated by the administration’s statements about UAW’s strike, or just want further information about the strike, please contact the Davis Faculty Association.
If you find this guidance useful, want to support the DFAs ongoing efforts on behalf of faculty interests and rights, and have not already done so, please join the DFA.
The Board of the Davis Faculty Association