Addressing frequently asked questions about strikes

As of November 2024, there are no current plans to strike and a strike may never be required for the Penn graduate student union (GETUP-UAW) and the Penn administration to agree to a contract. However, the GETUP-UAW Bargaining Committee could call for a strike during negotiations if they conclude that the Penn administration is acting in bad faith or has committed an Unfair Labor Practice. Therefore, we hope to help CAMB graduate students stay informed by answering some frequently asked questions concerning strikes.

For more information on GETUP-UAW and the ongoing contract negotiations, please refer to the full article in our November 2024 newsletter.

What is a strike?

A strike involves a group of workers collectively withholding labor from their employer, typically as a means to pressure the employer to address specific grievances. Legal strikes are a protected right under the National Labor Relations Act but are subject to rules and limitations that define a lawful versus unlawful strike (1). Exactly how a strike for research fellows at Penn would work is being actively discussed by GETUP-UAW.

What makes a strike lawful or unlawful?

Several factors define a lawful strike including the purpose, timing, and/or conduct of the strike (1). The exact legal details are extremely complicated and outside the scope of this post, but a general summary from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) can be found here (1). Issues concerning the legality of a strike are arbitrated by the NLRB (1).

Will graduate students have to go on strike during negotiations?

A strike is not necessarily required to reach an agreement as many graduate student unions have reached a tentative agreement without resorting to a strike. However, the Bargaining Committee could call for a strike during negotiations if they conclude that the Penn administration is acting in bad faith or has committed an Unfair Labor Practice. The GETUP-UAW Bargaining Committee has stated that the decision to call for a strike will not be taken lightly.

Who decides whether there will be a strike?

The decision to go on strike is made democratically through an election among Penn graduate students. For a strike to occur, the Bargaining Committee or other union members must first call for a strike vote. Penn graduate students will cast secret ballots in favor or in opposition to a strike (2). Given the two-thirds majority required for a successful vote, GET-UP will request strike authorization from the International Executive Board of UAW, which will make the final decision on whether a strike will occur (2).

In the event of a strike vote, both unionized graduate students and Penn administration will have many weeks to plan accordingly before a strike begins.

Would a strike mean I can’t take care of my cell cultures/animal colonies?

Exactly what kind of work will fall within strike parameters has yet to be determined, particularly for research fellows like us in CAMB. These parameters would be defined by the Bargaining Committee during the call for a strike vote. Every member should consider whether they support the defined parameters when voting for or against a strike.

The Bargaining Committee is currently in communication with other graduate student unions who are navigating the question of what a research strike would look like. The Bargaining Committee is aware of the impact such disruptions could have on individual’s research projects and is looking for a way to minimize huge setbacks while still applying the pressure required for a successful strike. If you would like to contribute to these ongoing discussions, you can contact the Bargaining Committee representatives listed below.

Keep in mind that the turnaround time for a strike is not immediate. Graduate students will have ample time to plan accordingly if a strike is authorized.

Will I be expected to skip class if a strike happens?

No. Attending class falls under your role as a student, not as a teaching or research fellow wherein you are providing a service to the university. Therefore, you are not expected to miss classes during a strike.

How long will a strike be?

No one can say for sure as the length of the strike depends on Penn’s responsiveness and willingness to meet demands. Some strikes are called for a defined amount of time while others are indefinite or until a tentative agreement can be reached. While some graduate student strikes have been brief (Washington State University 2024, 2 hours (3); University of Washington 2024, 1 day (4); Harvard University 2021, 3 days (5); Columbia University 2018, 6 days (6); University of Illinois at Chicago 2022; 6 days (7)), others have dragged on for longer (University of California 2022, 40 days (8); Temple University 2023, 41 days (9); Columbia University 2022, 10 weeks (10); Dartmouth College 2023, 59 days (11); University of Michigan 2023, 148 days (12); Boston University 2024, 7 months (13)).

How many students go on strike also influences strike duration. Typically high participation strikes are shorter as greater disruption to teaching and research puts more pressure on the employer to reach a tentative agreement.

Can Penn retaliate if a strike happens?

This is a complicated question. Federal law protects you from being fired for acting in a lawful strike against your employer (these protections do not apply to unlawful strikes). However, the Penn administration could still respond within legal bounds.

Employers are legally allowed to withhold pay from striking workers as seen during the recent graduate student strikes at Boston University (14). In such cases, unions use the strike fund to support striking workers through strike pay which is $500 per week for UAW (14-16). Unions can negotiate that back pay for wages lost due to striking be included in the contract.

Just last year, Temple University aggressively responded to the strike organized by Temple’s graduate student union (TUGSA) by discontinuing healthcare coverage and tuition remission for striking TUGSA members (17,18). While Temple may have been within legal bounds to withhold these payments, the brazen tactic was a rare move that made national headlines and received widespread criticism (17,18). Ultimately, Temple and TUGSA reached a tentative agreement to end the multi-week strike and Temple restored tuition remission and healthcare coverage for all students (9).

While retaliation can occur, there are many examples in which the university or college administration does not formally retaliate when a strike occurs. Some strikes have been resolved in a matter of hours or several days (3-7).

Overall, if or how Penn could respond to a strike is yet to be determined.

Could a strike threaten the visa status of international students?

No. International students have the same rights as US citizens under the National Labor Relations Act to participate in union activities, including strikes (19). According to US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), international students who go on strike will have no threat to their F-1 visa status, even if the fellowship has teaching or research as a requirement for the course of study (20). For more detailed information, please refer to the ICE document referenced here (20).

I still have questions. Who do I talk to?

If you have any questions or want to contribute to discussions about how to minimize the impact of a strike on graduate research, you can reach out to GET-UP through the interest form found here.

References:

THE CAMB STUDENT NEWSLETTER

Addressing frequently asked questions about strikes

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