[Faculty] For immediate distribution to all faculty and PI supervisors – Academic Continuity and ASE-GSR Bargaining

[UCR Provost]

*This letter is sent on behalf of UC System Provost and Executive Vice
President Katherine S. Newman. For your convenience, the text of the letter
is below.  The signed letter is attached as a pdf.*




ACADEMIC COUNCIL CHAIR AHMET PALAZOGLU

EXECUTIVE VICE CHANCELLORS AND PROVOSTS

VICE CHANCELLORS FOR RESEARCH



Dear Colleagues:



I am writing to provide an update on the strike authorization vote by the
United Auto Workers (UAW) for the unified Academic Student Employees (ASE –
TAs, AIs, Fellows, Readers, Tutors) and Graduate Student Researchers (GSR)
bargaining unit.  Please share this message and the attached FAQs regarding
strike preparation with all faculty, principal investigators, and
instructors of record.



The FAQs provide guidance on engaging employees regarding strike
participation, expectations for academic progress during a strike, time and
attendance reviews, and general strike activity. *Please do not post the
FAQs online or distribute to ASEs, GSRs, or to individuals in the new staff
Research and Public Service Professionals Unit (RPSP) and Student Services
and Advising Professionals Unit (SSAP). We are strictly prohibited from
communicating directly with union members as the UAW is their official
interlocutor.  *



As you know, we have been in active negotiations with the UAW concerning
ASE and GSR bargaining since July 2025. During these past eight months, we
have made every effort to reach a fair agreement that supports UC’s
education and research mission while remaining consistent with operational
and financial constraints. As I noted in my last bargaining update,
although the University recognizes the UAW’s desire for wage increases and
a unified salary scale, we face significant financial constraints right now
and unstable prospects going forward.



With the encouragement of faculty participants in the bargaining process,
we are assessing what we can manage in the contract in light of fixed grant
budgets, federal and sponsor requirements, and the cumulative impact on
faculty-funded research. I hear from my faculty colleagues about their
serious concerns over rising labor costs and persistent funding volatility,
twin pressures that continue to impact their research. They have made it
clear that we must be mindful of and responsible to people bear much of the
responsibility for bringing in essential support. I know the faculty
members of the bargaining team and the faculty advisory committee are
steadfast in advocating for faculty needs in the context of bargaining



As you know, we have a contract in place through February 28, 2026.
Regrettably, the UAW authorized a strike vote, which was successful. The
existing agreement requires the UAW and the University to complete three
days of mediation before a strike.  Accordingly, the parties have
tentatively agreed to mediation dates that stretch from mid-February
through early March. A faculty representative will also be in attendance
throughout mediation.



Although we are hopeful that the parties will reach an agreement at
mediation, we must prepare for academic continuity as a contingency plan.
Our commitment to the University’s mission must continue unabated. In the
event of a strike by UAW-represented employees, we will be prepared to
sustain the educational and research responsibilities we are all committed
to. Each campus must now prepare plans to ensure, to the greatest extent
possible, the uninterrupted delivery of instruction and student services.
Campuses should also plan to safeguard research materials and maintain
compliance with the terms of contracts and grants.



As you know, the UAW also represents the new Research and Public Service
Professionals and Student Services and Advising Professionals staff units.
Systemwide Labor Relations is distributing to campuses FAQs related to
strike plans for those two units, as well as additional guidance on
contingency planning.



Your campus EVC is preparing contingency plans, which will include the
following:



·       Identification of key personnel and relevant offices who will take
responsibility for coordination with the campus Academic Personnel, Labor
Relations, and Legal offices; and

·       A mechanism to ensure that if work is withheld, absences are
accurately recorded in campus time and attendance systems.



*Continuity in Instruction*



All scheduled classes must continue on their regular schedule, even if a
strike occurs. Accordingly, in coordination with their departments,
Instructors of Record should be prepared to confirm any discussion/lab
sections missed by ASEs under their supervision and to implement
contingency plans to ensure students can continue making progress toward
their degrees.



As you know, Instructors of Record are responsible for courses and
submission of grades even under strike conditions.



We encourage faculty to seek support from their campus Teaching and
Learning Centers to help maintain instructional continuity. Regular
communication among faculty, department chairs, the administration, and
divisional Academic Senate leadership will be essential. The extent of any
disruption, should it occur, will determine whether additional
instructional support is required.



*Continuity of Research*



We recommend that each campus Office of Research promptly engage with
Principal Investigators (PIs) to help minimize potential impacts of a
strike on the University’s research mission. This includes developing or
sharing existing procedures for accurately recording and reporting
personnel effort on sponsored projects. Please remember that personnel
expenses may be charged to sponsored awards only for work that has actually
been performed.



Principal Investigators may require guidance and resources to maintain
research continuity, including assistance in developing contingency plans,
preserving research materials, and ensuring proper documentation of effort
and expenditures. It will be particularly important for faculty intending
to submit grants for upcoming competitions to check in with the Office of
the Vice Chancellor for Research to follow the submission guidelines.



*Settlement with UAW regarding Timekeeping Responsibilities*



We fully respect represented employees’ right to engage in protected
activity, including a lawful strike. However, since employees on strike
are, by definition, not working, they are not eligible to receive their
regular pay. The UAW and the University have reached an agreement, mutually
acknowledging this, and have issued a joint leave compliance statement
<https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor-news/leave-compliance-joint-statement/>
to
that effect. With this agreement in place, the parties acknowledged that
during a labor stoppage, it is expected that UAW-represented UC employees
will record whether they participated in the strike by entering Leave
Without Pay in the University’s time and attendance system.



*Instructor of Record and Principal Investigator Responsibilities*



Under the Academic Personnel Manual (APM 410-20), developed through
management consultation and systemwide review, Teaching Assistants serve
under the active direction and supervision of a regular member of the
faculty. These Instructors of Record bear full responsibility for the
course, including oversight of Teaching Assistant performance. Accordingly,
the University relies on Instructors of Record to verify the accuracy of
Teaching Assistant leave reporting in local Time and Attendance systems.[1]
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-3081006886881306534_m_3996038130938866394__ftn1>



Principal Investigators are similarly reminded that federal research grants
are governed by the Uniform Guidance (2 C.F.R. Part 200), which establishes
uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit standards,
along with any agency-specific provisions. PIs hold primary responsibility
for the financial management and oversight of sponsored project funds in
compliance with both University and sponsor policies. This includes
ensuring the accurate reporting of hours worked and wages charged to grants
and contracts and certifying the accuracy of leave reporting for project
personnel.



While the University fully respects the right of employees to withhold
labor during a lawful strike, they are only entitled to compensation for
work actually performed. In the attached FAQs, there is systemwide guidance
provided on how to do that. Instructors of Record and Principal
Investigators should contact their local Office of Labor Relations or
Academic Personnel Office with any questions.


*Resources*



I recognize the frustration that uncertainty brings. It is understandably
unsettling when Instructors of Record and Principal Investigators must
activate contingency plans to ensure grades are submitted and that research
obligations are met, or when they must decline to certify inaccurate leave
reporting by Teaching Assistants or Graduate Student Researchers. None of
us wants to be in this position, and I sincerely hope such measures will
not be necessary.



These concerns are valid and shared by many. Still, we have clear
responsibilities to our students. Cancelled sections, missed office hours,
or delayed grade submissions can seriously affect students’ academic
progress, financial aid, employment opportunities, and graduation
timelines. We owe it to them to minimize these disruptions. There are also
clear responsibilities and reporting obligations to granting agencies if
research is withheld.



To aid in preparations for a strike, as well as to understand your
obligations under California labor laws in respecting the rights of
graduate student employees to strike, please review the attached FAQs.



Thank you for your continued professionalism, collaboration, and dedication
to supporting our students and our academic mission. We will keep you
informed as developments occur.



                                                                  Best
wishes,





Katherine S. Newman

UC System Provost and

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Public
Policy



Attachment: FAQs for Faculty, IORs, and
PIs



cc:            President Milliken

         Chancellors

         Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nava

         Executive Vice President Rubin

Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Bustamante

Senior Vice President Turner

Laboratory Director Witherell

         Academic Council Vice Chair Scott

Vice President Brown

Vice President/Vice Provost Gullatt

Vice President Humiston

Vice President and Chief of Staff Kao

Vice President Henderson

Vice President Maldonado

Vice Provost Varsanyi

Vice Provosts/Vice Chancellors for Academic Personnel

Deputy Provost Lee

Associate Vice Provost Jennings

Associate Vice President Matella

Associate Vice President McRae

Assistant Vice Provosts/Vice Chancellors for Academic Personnel

Chief Human Resource Officers

Graduate Deans

Executive Director Anders

                 Executive Director Lin

Executive Director Menezes

Deputy General Counsel Woodall

Chief of Staff Beechem

Labor Relations Directors

Director Weston-Dawkes
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