Tuesday, October 8, 1996
SAGE:
Administration should negotiate with union, but student
employees need to refrain from strikingThe administration’s
constant rebuffing of SAGE/UAW’s request to negotiate collectively
is unjustified, if not rude.
UCLA is snagged on the letters of the Higher Education
Employee-Employer Relations Act, which disqualifies "academic
apprentices" from collective-bargaining power. Academic student
employees maintain that they are more than apprentices and that
their work cannot be placed subordinate to academic objectives. As
of Sept. 13, an unbiased administrative law judge agreed. The
judge’s decision held that academic student employees (ASEs), with
the exception of research assistants, were entitled to union
representation as well as collective-bargaining rights. Chancellor
Young is displeased with the ruling and foresees an appeal.
Current ASE grievances are, for the most part, legitimate.
Workloads are increasing, and living costs, along with student
fees, are ballooning.
Paychecks, in many cases, fail to meet the needs of student
workers and their families. If student workers have an individual
complaint regarding such matters, they carry their complaints alone
(one person can carry it, as it has about the same weight and
fragile properties as balsa wood) to Murphy Hall and then await a
response. SAGE/UAW hopes to give them something more.
SAGE/UAW are not out to give Chancellor Young or the UCLA
administration the finger; they simply want to negotiate ASE
working conditions over a legally-binding contract on an equal
footing with the administration, which is something only union
status and collective rights can provide.
Although they have mentioned the possibility of filing an unfair
labor practices suit against the university, SAGE/UAW’s current
plan of attack to gain recognition from UCLA is a strike scheduled
for some time this fall.
If SAGE is planning anything remotely close to the two-day
walk-out of April 1995, we’re asking them nicely: please, don’t
bother.
Such a walk-out, or, if one insists on screwing with diction,
"strike," would be little more than a nuisance. Sure, it might
heighten awareness, but would it jolt the administration into
sitting across a table from SAGE representatives on equal
footing?
We think not. It would only serve to further polarize the two
sides; however, if a strike is deemed necessary, then we call upon
SAGE/UAW to do it right.
If you’re going to strike, make it widespread and resounding.
That means multicampus participation with a good, solid ASE
turnout. Show the full support you’ve attained. And if you don’t
have the numbers yet, then wait until you do.
Next, strike nonviolently. As seen at CSUN, violence only serves
to corrupt the issues.
And finally, do it the way it’s done in the majors. If you want
to walk out, then walk out indefinitely. Show administrators that
they are guilty of unfair labor practices and that, until needs are
addressed respectfully and collectively, you will hold your
ground.
We gladly support you in your struggle for administrative
recognition; however, we also hope that you give the legal process
a complete chance before considering anything as drastic as a
strike. After all, making academic labor history takes considerable
time. Be patient; the work you are now doing is groundbreaking.
Long-term improvement in UC education, brought about by collective
bargaining and improved student-employee working conditions, is a
worthy cause and, as indicated by the September court ruling,
likely to prevail.
Hang in there and duke it out in the courts. But if you feel the
need to strike, then stand up to the plate and follow through.