Letter about UC Berkeley General Strike Call on 11/15/2011

 

Dear UC-AFT represented lecturers and librarians, 
There will be a student strike at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, Nov. 15th to reject the excessive police force used against our protests to make Wall Street -- and the corporate elite on the boards governing our universities -- pay for refunding public education. Some senate faculty are expected to join the student strike, and the actions will add to the growing momentum for statewide convergences at the CSU Trustees meeting in Long Beach and the UC Regents meeting at UCSF Mission Bay on November 16th. To support these activities, you can sign a petition at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/uc_berkeley_teachers_condemn_violence/

  We encourage our members to support the strike in any way possible that does not violate the no strikes language in our contracts. One option for lecturers is to teach their courses outside on the November 15th and to tell students about the meetings on the 16th.  While lecturers and librarians cannot withhold their labor, they may arrange to hold classes in alternate off-campus locations, and they may join the pickets and strike activities during break time or other non-work hours.  For more suggestions on how you can support the November 15th strike, and some limitations on our involvement set by our contracts, please follow this link.  
http://ucaft.org/content/november-15-ucb-strike-advice-uc-aft-represented-lecturers-and-librarians
Bob Samuels UC-AFT President Lecturer, UCLA Writing Programs