AFSCME 3299 Unfair Labor Practice Strike May 16--UC-AFT Rights and Responsibilities

Dear UC-AFT Members,

On Thursday, May 16^th, 24,000 service and patient care workers of AFSCME 3299 will conduct a one-day unfair labor practice strike in response to management outsourcing plans that will result in job loss for UC employees and undermine job security, pay and retirement security for contract workers.  On April 10, our sister unions struck due to intimidation and retaliation during and after their solidarity strike with UPTE on March 20. AFSCME has been bargaining with UC management for two years to protect middle class jobs and reduce racial and gender pay gaps at the UC. Picket line information is available here.

UC-AFT stands in solidarity with UPTE-CWA 9119 and AFSCME 3299, and we encourage our members to demonstrate support for our sister UC unions. Please read the following guidance carefully. If you have any questions about your bargaining unit or your rights, get in touch with a UC-AFT representative before the strike date.

Rights and Responsibilities for UC-AFT Faculty and Librarians
Our UC-AFT faculty contract  and our Libraian contract have a no-strikes clauses in effect at this time. These clauses prohibits UC-AFT faculty and librarians from withholding our labor during the strike, but you can support your colleagues in a variety of other ways.

You may:
Respect our co-workers’ action as long as you do not withhold our labor or interfere with the operations of the university. You can join the picket line on your own time or refrain from coming to campus any time on April 10th that you are not scheduled to teach, administer an exam, or perform other duties.

Hold class on the picket line or in another alternate off-campus location, as long as accessibility is assured for all students.

Teach the issues, much as you would any other important current event that you might address in your class: instruct students in what a labor union is, what kind of work AFSCME and UPTE members perform to sustain our university and our hospitals, how a strike happens, and what it means.

Exercise your first amendment rights to free speech by wearing union button and t-shirts, expressing opinions about the strike, and discussing your own union membership.

Express solidarity with our sisters and brothers of UPTE and AFSCME. Tag @uptecwa and @AFSCMELocal3299 in social media posts and use these hashtags:, #UCfortheMany, #UCUnionsUnited, #solidarity.

You must:
Abide by the terms of our Unit 18 and Unit 17 contracts, particularly Unit 18 Article 35 (No Strikes/No Lockouts), and Unit 17 Article 27 Conterted Activities.

Respect the rights of Academic Student Employees (i.e., grad students) represented by UAW 2865, especially if an individual grad student exercises her right to observe the picket line as a matter of individual conscience and free expression, which is permitted by Article 19 of the UAW 2865 contract. 

You may not:
Cancel class or exams.  

Encourage others to cancel class or exams.

Engage in a strike, sympathy strike, stoppage or interruption of work, or other concerted activity that interferes directly or indirectly with university operations.

Let us know immediately if you exercise your rights in accordance with our contract and experience any intimidation or retaliation.  It is illegal for an employer to retaliate for communicating about or participating in union activities.

In solidarity,

Mia L. McIver, Ph.D.
Lecturer, UCLA Writing Programs
President, UC-AFT