SAGE committee sets conditions of walk-out
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 17, 1995 9:00 p.m.
SAGE committee sets conditions of walk-out
By Mark Quigley
The following is an open letter to Chancellor Charles Young.
As the national limelight shines on UCLA and the achievements of
our outstanding student athletes, it is ironic that the graduate
employees who are most responsible for the education of these
students are in the dark regarding decisions about the terms of
their employment. While UCLA presents a model of teamwork and
diligence on the basketball court, its refusal to allow graduate
employees to help determine the conditions of their employment is
an embarrassment in the arena of labor relations.
As you know, a majority of graduate employees has expressed its
desire to have SAGE/UAW represent them in negotiations of graduate
employment conditions. The State of California’s Public Employee
Relations Board has certified this.
Yet, Chancellor Young, almost a year later, you still refuse to
recognize this democratic expression of the will of graduate
employees. In the face of such stonewalling, SAGE/UAW members voted
to stage a two-day walkout and picket this quarter if recognition
of the union is continually refused.
As you also know, a nine-person Walkout Authorization Committee
was elected to engage in discussions and negotiations. Despite your
earlier reluctance to negotiate, we were heartened by the
independent thinking and moral courage evinced by your recent
statements on affirmative action.
We have been hopeful that you would again be willing to set an
example for the UC system by treating graduate employees with the
fairness and respect they deserve. However, despite the
ever-decreasing amount of time left before a walkout, you have not
found time to meet with the committee or even acknowledge our
requests to meet with you.
Given your silence, we want to make our situation clear to the
rest of the UCLA community:
1) We care about our students and our jobs as TAs, RAs, readers
and tutors.
2) We do not want to have to walk off our jobs.
3) We will walk out if the vital role we play as employees in
advancing the education and research aims of the university is
continually refused.
4) A walkout will cause significant hardship for virtually all
campus community members.
5) You, Chancellor Young, can eliminate the need for a walkout
and its accompanying stress by recognizing our union.
6) Any walkout that occurs is the direct result of your
unwillingness to acknowledge graduate students’ democratic
expression of their desire to unionize.
7) As chancellor, you owe it to the UCLA community to maintain
the smooth running of the university by immediately engaging in
negotiations with the Walkout Authorization Committee.
8) Your negotiation with SAGE/UAW would show respect for the
vital university employees the union represents and it would
bolster the long-term welfare and quality of the university as a
teaching and research institution.
Chancellor Young, the ball is in your court. The clock is
running out. Take a cue from our championship basketball team:
Don’t dribble away this opportunity.
Quigley is a member of the SAGE/UAW Walkout Authorization
Committee. This letter was accompanied by the signatures of the
remaining eight members of the committee.
