Important Information for UC Employees About Participating in Work Stoppages and Strikes

As you may know, the California Nurses Association, the union representing UC nurses, has stated its intention to stage a one-day strike on May 29 despite the fact that all but a few issues have been settled. A few other UC unions have indicated that they may join in the strike (sometimes called a "sympathy strike").

Regardless of which union may be representing you, if you are a UC employee and you are considering participating in CNA's strike on May 29th, the University wants to make sure that you are clear about the potential consequences associated with strike actions so you can make an informed decision.

FACTS ABOUT STRIKES

Under state law, before a legal strike can occur, formal bargaining, including impasse procedures, must be exhausted.  The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has consistently held that strikes during the bargaining process including impasse procedures presumptively violate good faith negotiations. PERB has also held that one-day strikes or intermittent strikes for the purpose of achieving a bargaining objective are presumptively unlawful. Additionally, PERB has held that "sympathy strikers" (employees represented by other unions) who support an unlawful strike are also considered to be engaging in an unlawful activity.

The only exception to these strike restrictions is if the employer is found to have committed an unfair labor practice, which then may (but will not always) exempt the union from these strike prohibitions.

While CNA claims its strike is based on unfair labor practices, there has been no such finding.

UC attorneys have reviewed CNA's unfair practice charges and are confident that any CNA strike would be deemed illegal and that their alleged unfair labor practice charges will fail legal scrutiny and will be judged a bad-faith bargaining maneuver. Because of the hardship that such a strike could exact on patients, employees and UC operations, the University will exercise all of its legal rights and remedies to respond to an illegal strike.

Please note that University employees who participate in an unlawful strike will not be paid for their time off work and may be subject to disciplinary action.

 
GET THE FACTS--DECIDE FOR YOURSELF

Because of these serious possible consequences, and because you may have been exposed to a lot of confusing information, if you are a UC employee who is considering participating in this strike, it's very important that you make-up your own mind based on facts. Find out for yourself what each side has proposed and committed to in writing and don't just go by what you've heard. Get the written details about both the University's and CNA's proposals. An overview of UC's current proposal is available at: www.ucop.edu/humres/labor/nurse.html.