UCSC UAW 4811 Union Glossary

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Computational Media (CM)

Academic Department at UCSC in the Baskin School of Engineering.

Rare

Applied Mathematics (AM)

Academic Department at UCSC in the Baskin School of Engineering.

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Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)

Academic Department at UCSC in the Baskin School of Engineering.

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Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)

Academic Department at UCSC in the Baskin School of Engineering.

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Critical Race & Ethnic Studies (CRES)

Department at UCSC.

link (link)

https://cres.ucsc.edu/about/index.html

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Demonstrations Operations Team (DOT)

A shadowy organization within the UC that coordinates response to demonstrations.

link (link)

https://oes.ucsc.edu/emergency-preparedness/procedures/demonstrations-and-protests.html

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Digital Arts and New Media (DANM)

Program in the UCSC Arts department.

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Environmental Art And Social Practice (EASP)

Master of Fine Art (MFA) program in the Art department.

link (link)

https://art.ucsc.edu/mfa

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Feminist Studies (FMST)

Department at UCSC.

link (link)

https://feministstudies.ucsc.edu/

Uncommon

Film & Digital Media (FDM)

Department at UCSC.

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Sociology (SOCY )

Department at UCSC.

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Global and Community Health Program (GCH)

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Hispanic-Serving Institution Initiatives (HSI)

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History of Consciousness (Histcon)

A UCSC philosophy department

Uncommon

Latin American And Latino Studies (LALS)

Department at UCSC.

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Microbiology & Environmental Toxicology (METX)

Department at UCSC.

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Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (MCD Bio)

Department at UCSC.

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Physical & Biological Sciences Division (PBSci)

Academic Division at UCSC

Uncommon

Humanities Division (Hum)

Academic Division at UCSC

Uncommon

Social Sciences Division (Soc Sci)

Academic Division at UCSC

Uncommon

Arts Division (arts)

Academic Division at UCSC

The Humanities Institute (THI)

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UC Santa Cruz Foundation (UCSC Foundation)

link (link)

https://foundation.ucsc.edu/

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Visual Studies (HAVC)

Department at UCSC.

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bargaining concession

In contract negotiations, a concession is when one side agrees to terms which give up previously-held rights or benefits. In the 1980s, when faced with plant closures, many manufacturing unions conceded guaranteed salary increases or job security measures that they had had enjoyed for decades.

Uncommon

bargaining in bad faith

In contract negotiations, a bargaining team is said to be bargaining in bad faith if the bargain without the intent of trying to reach an agreement. Examples of bad faith bargaining include: failing to exchange proposals; failing to offer counter-proposals; canceling sessions without reason; delaying bargaining; failure to meet at an appropriate time/place; regressive or surface bargaining; or general conduct to frustrate the bargaining process.

Uncommon

bargaining in good faith

In contract negotiations, both sides must meet on a reasonable timeline and with the intent to reach agreement on terms and conditions of employment throughout the bargaining process. Bargaining in good faith does not require either side to accept a specific proposal or accept concessions.

Uncommon

caucus

During contract bargaining, either side can call a caucus, which is a private meeting with their side only to regroup and discuss strategy.

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closed bargaining

In contract negotiations, each side may agree to limit the flow of information into and out of the bargaining room. Under closed bargaining, nobody but members of the bargaining teams can attend bargaining sessions, and negotiators are usually barred from sharing any specifics about what happens at the table. Closed bargaining is common in many industries but rare in higher education.

Common

open bargaining

Each side in a contract negotiation may agree to allow information to flow freely into and out of the bargaining room. Under open bargaining, all union members can attend bargaining sessions, and bargaining teams can communicate in detail about the process, including proposed contract language and their counterparts’ actions at the table. Open bargaining is very common in contemporary higher education union negotiations. Our union has used open bargaining in every contract campaign since 2013

Common

regressive bargaining

A type of bad faith bargaining where one party moves backwards, offering less in a proposal than they previously offered. For example, if the UC offers a 5% raise, and, all things unchanged, comes back later and offers a 3% raise, that would constitute regressive bargaining.

Rare

sunshine meeting, sunshining

The first public declaration of demands from each side in a contract negotiation is called sunshinging the demands. Labor law in California requires that employers and unions share initial positions in a publicly-held meeting, often called a “sunshine” meeting. For the 2025 contract negotiations, the union will sunshine our initial bargaining demands at the end of 2024.

Uncommon

surface bargaining

A type of bad faith bargaining where one side meets at the bargaining table but only goes through the motions of bargaining, refusing to make substantive progress.

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tentative agreement (TA, TA'd)

A tentative agreement is a proposal that both sides have signed off on and will appear in the final agreement. Once something is “TA’d”, it will remain “off the table” and neither side can make changes. When a final agreement is reached, the entire agreement is “TA’d” and sent to the membership for ratification. See also "Teaching Assistant".

Uncommon

academically ineligible / academically eligible

Workers may become academically ineligible for employment (how?). Under the UAW contract, this can be just cause for dismissal.

Rare

attestation form

A document that may be requested by the UC to identify strikers OR a document requested by the union to identify recipients of strike pay. The union has determined that striking workers are not required to submit attestation forms to the UC.

Common

bargaining convention (BargCon)

The bargaining convention to prepare for negotiations. Consists of elected members collected from each campus. Each division will have a number of candidates proportional to its size. For the 2025 contract negotiations, the bargcon November 16-17.

Uncommon

bargaining team (BT)

A collection of elected union representatives who negotiate with the UC during strikes and contract negotiations. There are two bargaining team members from each campus.

Common

collective bargaining agreements (CBA)

A collective bargaining agreement is a contract each bargaining unit signs with the UC to determine wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. After negotiations between the union's bargaining team and the UC is concluded, the contract is ratified by a vote of all union members, at which point, the bargaining units will have a new collective bargaining agreement.

Common

contact enforcement (CE)

A group within the union that ensures the union's contracts are respected by the UC.

Common

contact enforcement team

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Contract Action Team (CAT)

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contract ratification

Common

economic strike

A strike called during contract negotiations after both sides reach an impasse and are unable to reach an agreement after mediation.

Rare

fink

A strikebreaker.

link (link)

Definition

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grievance

A grievance is a claim by an individual ASE, a group of ASEs, or the UAW, that the University has violated a specific provision of this agreement during the term of this agreement. Grievances are filed with the UCSC labor relations office. They must be filed within thirty calendar days. If the grievance is not resolved, it can be taken to arbitration. See Article 12 of the ASE contract and Article 11 of the GSR contract.

link (link)

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/labor/bargaining-units/bx/docs/bx_12-grievance-and-arbitration_2022-2025.pdf

Common

injunction

A ruling by a court whereby one is required to do or to refrain from doing a specified act. In the case of strikes, injunctions can be issued by PERB.

Uncommon

lockout

"A lockout is a temporary withholding or denial of employment initiated by an employer during a labor dispute to gain concessions or resist worker demands." (Source: https://www.findlaw.com/employment/wages-and-benefits/labor-strike-faqs.html)

Uncommon

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Decides ruling regarding unions for private employers.

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Orange County (OC)

A temporary restraining order was issued by the Superior Court of Orange County to break the UAW strike.

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pay docking

Withholding of a worker's pay.

Common

pay scales/salary scales/pay steps

link (link)

https://apo.ucsc.edu/docs/scales-crnt.pdf

Common

PERB mediation sessions

Closed-door discussions between the UC and the union (legally confidentially).

Uncommon

powermapping

The process before or during a strike of determining who is currently working, what their jobs are, their willingness to strike, and obstacles that they might face.

link (link)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vGb-CBK099QYF_1UYah2a_ngLeGif1RA2IEybzC9FHU/edit

Common

Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)

PERB is a "quasi-judicial administrative agency charged with administering the collective bargaining statutes." PERB determines things like whether a strike is legal or illegal.

link (link)

https://perb.ca.gov/

Common

scab

A strikebreaker.

Common

side letters

Uncommon

stand-up strike

A strike format where different groups may be called to strike at different times. This is the format of the 2024 ULP strike.

link (link)

https://uaw.org/standup/

Common

strike pay

Pay made to striking workers by the UAW to help them live while the UC is withholding pay (if the UC is able to identify who is striking, which it has often struggled to do). Receiving strike pay requires a certain amount of participation in picketing and the submission of an attestation form to the union (not to the UC!).

Common

strikebreaker

A person who works for an employer during a strike.

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summer funding

Funding for grad students that extends during the summer.

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temporary restraining order (TRO )

A ruling issued by a court to prohibit a particular action. In particular, an orange county superior court judge issued a TRO to suppress the 2024 ULP strike.

Uncommon

timesheets

The UC has requested that employees submit timesheets that describe when they have not worked and threatened to dock pay for workers that do not submit them. These timesheets are not required by our contract and the union guidance at UCSC has consistently been to ignore them.

Uncommon

wage garnishment

Wage garnishment is when an employer withholds a portion of a paycheck to pay for a debt until the debt is resolved.

Common

contested position

Indicates a position in an election that has two more more candidate.

Uncommon

election by acclamation

Means that a candidate in an election is elected by default because they do not have an opponent.

Uncommon

good standing

A UAW member is in "good standing" if they are up-to-date on their dues. Because union dues are automatically deducted by UC, all workers should be in good standing if they have signed a membership card and have not subsequently revoked their membership. For graduate students, you can be a member in good standing even if you are not currently working in-unit.

Uncommon

Simply Voting

The voting platform used for statewide elections.

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Biomedical Sciences Building (Biomed)

Building on Science Hill at UCSC. Directly south of Mclaughlin, next to Physical Sciences Building and and Science and Engineering Library.

link (link)

Google Maps

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Earth & Marine Science (EMS)

Building near the lower part Science Hill on the UCSC campus. Painted white, has super weird layout.

link (link)

Google Maps

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Family Student Housing (FSH)

Housing complex on the westside of the UCSC main campus. Pronounced like "fish".

Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (ISB)

Building that houses the astronomy department.

link (link)

Google Maps

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Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH)

link (link)

https://www.santacruzmah.org/

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Science and Engineering Library (S&E)

Library on Science Hill at UCSC, near Physical Sciences building.

link (link)

Google Maps

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Westside Research Park (WRP)

UCSC facility near Western Dr. and Natural Bridges State Park.

link (link)

Google Maps

Uncommon

California Public Records Act (CPRA)

A California state law that requires public institutions, such as the UC, to turn over certain types of document upon request.

Rare

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

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Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Law that dictates who info about students' academic performance can and cannot be shared with.

Uncommon

Private Attorney General Act (PEGA)

A California statute that authorizes aggrieved employees to bring actions for civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California against their employers for California Labor Code violations. In particular, this bill allows aggrieved employees to bring civil actions to recover penalties, if the Labor and Workforce Development Agency does not do so.

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California Penal Code Section 626.4 (626)

A section of the California Penal Code that allows the UC to exclude any "disruptive persons" from UC campuses for up to 14 days.

link (link)

https://news.ucsc.edu/2024/06/notice-faq.html

Uncommon

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

A federal law that protects people against discrimination for disabilities and ensures some workplace accommodations.

Common

Weingarten Rights

Rights of union employees to have union representation at investigatory interviews.

link (link)

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/420/251/

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ASE campus chair (chair)

The ASE campus chair is the head of the UCSC chapter of the union for the ASE bargaining unit. As of May 2024, the ASE campus chair at UCSC is Rebecca Gross.

link (link)

LEADERSHIP — UAW 4811

Common

ASE statewide chair

Common

department steward (steward)

A member of an academic department that handles communication and organizing of department regarding union stuff. At UCSC, stewardship is a relatively informal position that is generally not elected. There may be multiple stewards for each department.

Common

recording secretary

As of May 2024, the recording secretary at UCSC is Jess Fournier.

link (link)

LEADERSHIP — UAW 4811

Uncommon

region director

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by-laws (or bylaws)

By-laws are a collection rules that govern union policies at the local (statewide) level.

link (link)

UAW 4811 By-laws

Common

direct response (DR)

Indicates that somebody will respond to a comment that was just made without waiting for a turn in the stack. Typically requires approval by whoever is organizing the stack.

Common

friendly amendment

An amendment to a motion under debate that is perceived by all parties as an enhancement to the original motion, often only as clarification of intent. The opposite is a hostile amendment. (Source: Wikipedia)

link (link)

Friendly amendment - Wikipedia

Uncommon

hostile amendment

See "friendly amendment".

Uncommon

Robert's rules of order

A formal set of rules for how meetings are performed. Anytime you hear people calling for "motions", the meeting is probably following Robert's rules.

link (link)

Summary of the rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11WATjjuSjPfFn5mrRfjpgwkfZG9rtQUpfeNbZQ_wvNI/edit?usp=sharing

Common

stack

A method of keeping track of who is next in line to speak in a meeting. In computer science terminology, this is a queue, but for some reason we call it a stack. There are two methods for using a stack in a Zoom meeting, either raising hands or typing "stack" in the chat. The meeting facilitator will typically tell you which is being used.

Common

vote whipping

The process of ensuring that members of a political party (or caucus) votes in line with the party (or caucus).

Rare

Academic Researcher (AR)

Academic researchers at the University of California are comprised of Academic Specialists, Project Scientists, Professional Researchers and Coordinators of Public Programs.

link (link)

Academic Researchers | UCnet https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/academic-researchers/contract/

Common

Academic Student Employee (ASE)

Academic Student Workers at the UC include graduate students who work as teaching assistants, instructors, readers, and tutors.

link (link)

https://shr.ucsc.edu/elr/ase-toolkit/

link (link)

Academic Student Employees (BX)

https://shr.ucsc.edu/elr/ase-toolkit/, Academic Student Employees (BX)

Common

BR bargaining unit (BR)

The BR Unit includes graduate students at the University who perform research as a service to the University and under the specific direction and control of a faculty member or Principal Investigator.

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BX bargaining unit (BX)

The BX Unit consists of Academic Student Employees.

Rare

course assistant

An academic worker who is not a student. Course assistants are covered by UAW 4811. Includes some recent grads and others community members.

Uncommon

Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA)

Graduate Student Research Assistant are workers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Mentioned in Article 32 of the 2022-2025 GSR contract.

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graduate student researcher (GSR, SR)

Academic worker position for graduate students who do paid research for the university. Until 2025, GSRs have a separate contract from ASE's, but their contracts will be merged in the next baraining cycle.

Common

post-doc (PD)

A postgraduate researcher. "PD" may also stand for "police department" or "professional development".

Common

PX bargaining unit (PX)

The PX Unit members are postdoctoral scholars who contribute to the University’s academic community by enhancing the research and educational programs at the University under the mentorship of a faculty member or principal investigator.

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RA bargaining unit (RA)

The RA unit is comprised of academic researchers, which includes positions such as Academic Specialist, Project Scientists, Professional Researchers, and Coordinators of Public Programs.

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teaching assistant (TA)

A teaching assistant or education assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TA's who are appointed to 25% time or more have their tuition and and fees covered by the UC.

Common

12/50 campaign (1250)

A campaign that started at San Diego in 2023(?) to demand that the UC guarantee 12-month funding at 50% appointment for graduate students. The motivation was that many people were getting appointed at like 48% and underpaid, or were not receiving summer funding.

Rare

academic good standing

Uncommon

Administration caucus (AC)

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Affirmative Action (AA)

Uncommon

agitation and propaganda (AgitProp)

Sometimes used as the name of a group responsible for agitation and propaganda (at strikes?).

Rare

American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

link (link)

https://www.aaup.org/

Rare

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Rare

Anti-repression Committee (ARC)

Run by the National Lawyers Guild? Helps with legal support after protests.

link (link)

Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee

Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR)

A ticketing system TAPS adopted in 2024 to automatically check cars license plates to determine if they are permitted to park on campus.

Rare

black, indigenous, (and) people of color (BIPOC)

Uncommon

Canvas

A course administration website used by UCSC.

Uncommon

cease and desist letter

Common

Coalition of Department Advisors (CODA )

Rare

cost of living adjustment. (COLA )

A strike demand from the 2019-2020 wildcat strike to have the UC raise the wages of grad student workers to match increases to the cost of living.

Common

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Council on American-Islamic Relations

link (link)

https://ca.cair.com/about-us/

Rare

Department of Defense (DOD or DoD)

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description of duties (DoD)

See also "Department of Defense"

Uncommon

Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)

Rare

employment good standing

In summer 2024, the UC has been sending conditional employment letters based on workers being in "good standing" but it is not clear what this term means.

encampment

Common

Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP)

A group of faculty, lecturers, staff, and graduate students at UCSC. The group works to support Students for Justice in Palestine in their work, collaborate with students on direct actions, protect faculty and graduate students under attack for making space to discuss Palestine in their classrooms, hosting events, and act as liaisons for students experiencing harassment because they are perceived as Arab, Muslim, and/or pro-Palestinian.

link (link)

UCSC Faculty For Justice in Palestine

Rare

faculty organizing group (FOG )

Rare

folx

A plural noun used to explicitly signal the inclusion of groups commonly marginalized.

link (link)

Folx Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Rare

graduate student instructor (GSI)

A GSI is a graduate student who is the primary instructor for a course.

Common

High Rock Security

A private secuity agency hired by UCSC (as of May 2024). Private security officers may have the power of arrest and can be licensed to carry firearms, batons, and tear gas. Legally, they must have these licenses on them at all times (it is unclear if they are obligated to present them, though).

link (link)

https://www.highrocksecurity.com/clients https://www.bsis.ca.gov/forms_pubs/guard_fact.shtml https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=BPC&division=3.&title=&part=&chapter=11.5.&article=

Rare

Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA )

HEERA is a 1979 California law that established collective bargaining for employees of the UC (and other state universities).

link (link)

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=GOV&division=4.&title=1.&part=&chapter=12.&article=

Uncommon

hiring unit / department

Common

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)

Rare

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)

Rare

Jews Against White Supremacy (JAWS)

student organization

Uncommon

Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA)

Rare

Labor Commissioner

link (link)

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/

Rare

labor organizanizing

The work of building collective worker power.

Common

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL, LBNL, Berkeley Lab)

Not to be confused with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Rare

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

Not to be confused with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Uncommon

monthly membership meeting (MMM)

A monthly meeting open to all union members. MMM's can include votes that make important decisions. MMM's are required by the (statewide) by-laws.

Common

MSCI

An American finance company. The investment advisor for the UC?

Rare

National Lawyers Guild (NLG)

Provides jail support for arrested protesters.

link (link)

Anti-Repression Committee

National Lawyers Guild SF

Anti-Repression Committee

National Lawyers Guild SF

Rare

Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (NRST)

Additional tution fees charged to students from outside CA. PhD students who have advanced to candidacy are not charged the NRST for three years. See Article 11 of ASE contract and article 10 of the GSR contract.

link (link)

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/labor/bargaining-units/bx/docs/bx_11-fee-remission_2022-2025.pdf

Uncommon

Palestine Justice Coalition (PJC)

A community group in Santa Cruz.

link (link)

https://rcnv.org/programs/palestine-justice-coalition-3/

Rare

Pass/No Pass (P/NP)

A grading scheme for academic courses. If grades are withheld, then

Uncommon

people of color / person of color (POC)

Common

pre-arbitration conference

Rare

Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition (PDST)

Rare

Reform UC-UAW slate

A collection of candidates in the 2024 election for UAW 4811 to replace the current leadership. They lost.

Rare

rent burden

Rent-burden is defined as spending over 30% of income on rent and utilities. Severely rent-burder is defined as spending over 50%.

Uncommon

request for information (RFI)

Uncommon

Researchers Against War (RAW)

Researchers fighting against militarism in research and for a free Palestine.

Rare

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

The union for the Santa Cruz Metro drivers.

link (link)

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 521 SANTA CRUZ METROPOLITAN TRANSIT DISTRICT

Uncommon

Signal

A secure messaging platform used for internal union communications.

Common

step 2 grievance

If a worker cannot resolve a complaint against the UC through informal discussions, a step-2 grievance can be filed per the terms of the GSR and ASE contracts.

Uncommon

strike authorization vote (SAV)

A vote by all union members to authorize a strike. Requires 2/3rds “yes” vote before a strike can be called.

Common

Student Experience of Teaching Surveys (SETS)

Anonymous evaluations of instructors and teaching assistants submitted by students at the end of each quarter.

Common

Student Union Assembly (SUA)

Rare

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP )

Undergraduate(?) organization.

Uncommon

teach-in

Common

temperature check

A poll in a meeting that is intended to be non-binding. Useful for guiding decisions. May be done by a Google form or Zoom poll.

Common

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD provides data sets about housing prices, which can be useful for determining rent burden on a community.

Rare

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

Rare

United Auto Workers (UAW)

The UAW is the union that represents graduate students, post docs, and non-faculty researchers in the UC. The full name of the union is "International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America", but this is only used in formal communications.

Common

UAW Local Union 2865 (UAW 2865)

Until 2023, UAW Local Union 2865 was the local union that represented academic student workers in the UC. In Fall 2023, UAW 2865 amalgamated (merged) with UAW 5810 to form UAW 4811.

Rare

UAW Local Union 5810 (UAW 5810)

Until 2023, UAW Local Union 5810 was the local union that represented graduate student workers in the UC. In Fall 2023, UAW 5810 amalgamated (merged) with UAW 2865 to form UAW 4811.

Rare

UAW contract (2022-2025)

The document governing the relationship between the UC and grad students and postdocs.

link (link)

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/academic-student-employees/contract/

Common

UC framework for sustainable investment

Rare

University of California Retirement Program (UCRP)

Retirement plan for UC emplyees.

link (link)

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/benefits/retirement/

Rare

UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UCSHIP, UC SHIP)

UCSHIP is a health insurance plan for UC students provided through UCOP. Some UC campuses do not use UCSHIP for graduate student workers, instead opting for campus-by-campus Graduate Student Health Insurance Plans.

link (link)

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/labor/bargaining-units/bx/docs/bx_14-health-benefits_2022-2025.pdf https://myucship.org/uc-santa-cruz/benefits-101/about-uc-ship/

Uncommon

unfair labor practice (ULP)

Common

Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD)

A grassroots movement with the goal of making the UAW a more democratic and accountable to rank and file members.

link (link)

https://uawd.org/about/

Rare

Voluntary Community Action Program (VCAP, V-CAP, CAP)

V-CAP is the UAW’s political action program, which includes the Union’s PAC (Political Action Committee). The PAC fund comes from voluntary contributions from active and retired UAW members. The money is used to support pro-worker political candidates who have earned the endorsement of the UAW Community Action Program (UAW CAP).

Rare

wildcat strike

A wildcat strike is an unsanctioned strike. Does not have legal protections against retaliations. At UCSC, "The Wildcat" typically refers to the wildcat strike that happened 2019-2020.

Common

work-to-rule (WTR)

A work actions in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract or job, and strictly follow time-consuming rules that are normally not enforced.

Uncommon

Worker Student Solidarity Coalition (WSSC)

Group at UCSC.

Rare

Youth Labor Organizing Corps (YLOC)

Rare

Academic Workers for a Democratic Union (AWDU)

Uncommon

AFSCME 3299

Union for UC service workers, patient care technical workers, and skilled craft workers

link (link)

https://afscme3299.org/

Rare

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

The AFL-CIO is a federation of 60 national and international labor unions that represent more than 12.5 million working people.The International UAW is a member (affiliated union) in the AFL-CIO.

link (link)

https://aflcio.org/

link (link)

List of affiliated unions

https://aflcio.org/, List of affiliated unions

Uncommon

American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

The union for non-senate faculty (lecturers) at UCSC.

Uncommon

Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU)

Rare

Faculty Association (FA)

A labor group for senate faculty members. See "Council of UC Faculty Associations" and "UC Santa Cruz Faculty Association"

Rare

Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA)

The Council of UC Faculty Associations is a statewide council made up of representatives from each campus' Faculty Association (FA). The FAs are a sort of labor association/advocacy group for Senate faculty at the different UCs -- except at UCSC, where the UC Santa Cruz Faculty Association is an *actual* union for the senate faculty.

link (link)

https://cucfa.org/about/

Rare

UC Santa Cruz Faculty Association (SCFA)

The UCSC Faculty Association is a union that represents all UCSC Senate faculty members.

link (link)

https://ucscfa.org/

Uncommon

Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO )

The graduate student union at University of Michigan.

link (link)

https://www.geo3550.org/

Rare

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)

ILWU is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States and Canada.

Uncommon

Monterey Bay Central Labor Council (MBCLC)

A group of unions in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. The local body of AFL-CIO.

link (link)

https://mbclc.org/about-us

Rare

National Education Association (NEA)

A union that represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers. It is the larget labor union in the US.

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Student Dining Workers Union (SDWU)

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Teamsters Union

The union for UPS and...

Uncommon

UC-AFT Local 1474 (UC-AFT)

Union for that represents Non-Senate Faculty and Librarians of the University of California. Affiliated with the California Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers.

link (link)

https://ucaft.org/content/about-uc-aft

Uncommon

UCLA Faculty Association (UCLAFA)

See

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United Labor Unions (ULU)

A coalition of unions.

Rare

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

A New York–based international Jewish pro-Israel non-governmental organization and advocacy group. The leader has said, "anti-Zionism is antisemitism."

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Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)

Uncommon

Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life (Hillel)

The largest Jewish campus organization in the world.

Uncommon

intifada

In English-language usage, primarily refers to Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation. Historically, Intifada has been used to describe both violent and nonviolent methods of resistance, so its usage risks misinterpretation.

Uncommon

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

The Israeli military.

Common

Israel Offense Forces (IOF)

A slang term used for the Israel Defense Forces to highlight that their behavior has little to do with defense.

Uncommon

keffiyeh

In Palestine, the keffiyeh is distinctly patterned black-and-white headressing. The pattern and coloring differ in other regions.

link (link)

Palestinian keffiyeh - Wikipedia

Uncommon

Nakba

The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the region of Palestine during 1948 to make way for the founding of Israel.

link (link)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba_Day

Uncommon

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)

link (link)

Organization: https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi Academic boycott: https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi/academic-boycott-guidelines Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Campaign_for_the_Academic_and_Cultural_Boycott_of_Israel

Uncommon

Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions

Rare

watermelon (symbol) (🍉)

Watermelon is a symbol of Palestine. It has the Green, Red, and Black found on the flag. It is famous for a Zionist soldier trying to censor watermelons during the 1980's (Israel banned Palestinian flags).

link (link)

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/08/1222718339/why-watermelons-are-symbol-of-palestinian-solidarity

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California Assembly Bill No. 673 (AB 673)

An amendment to the California labor law (Labor Code section 210) to allow employees to collect penalties for late wages.

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California Labor Code section 210 (CA Labor Code 210)

A section of the California labor law that imposes penalties when employeers fail to pay employees what they are owed, or pay late. AB 673 amended this section so that penalties are paid to the employee, but Labor Code Section 220 except employees of California from section 210.

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California Labor Code Section 510 (CA Labor Code 510)

Law ensuring overtime is paid at double-rate in particular situations.

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DC Plan Safe Harbor

The DC Plan Safe Harbor is an obligatory retirement plan for UC emplyees. Safe Harbor participants contribute 7.5% of their wages, on a pretax basis, in lieu of contributing to Social Security.

DC Plan Voluntary Contribution

DC Plan Voluntary Contribution is an optional retirement plan for UC emplyees.

Defined Contribution Plan (DCP, DC Plan)

Defined Contribution Plan is a retirement plan for UC emplyees. There are two components "DC Plan Safe Harbor" and and "DC Plan Voluntary Contributions".

link (link)

https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/benefits/retirement/

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Do Not Export (DNE)

Used by Timekeepers to prevent the timesheet from exporting from CruzPay to UCPath for payment (Student/HAC)

Rare

full-time equivalent (FTE)

Full-time equivalent is a unit of measurement for workload of a worker. A worker's FTE is the number of total hours worked divided by the maximum number of compensable hours in a full-time schedule as defined by law (i.e, 40 hours).

Uncommon

in absentia

In absentia status is a form of registration available to graduate students undertaking necessary coursework or research related to their degree programs outside the designated local campus region.

Uncommon

Leave No Pay (LNP)

CruzPay: Timesheet code

Common

leave without pay (LWP)

Uncommon

Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI)

Social Security payements, which appear on pay statements.

Rare

paid in arrears

Payment that is made after work is completed, as opposed to advanced payment.

Rare

pay docking

Deducting a portion of a paycheck for days that were not worked during a pay period.

Common

System BR dues

Union dues for the BR bargaining unit

Uncommon

System BX dues

Union dues for the BX bargaining unit

Uncommon

UCPath

UCPath is the payroll website for the UC.

link (link)

https://ucpath.universityofcalifornia.edu/home

Common

"all cops are bastards" (ACAB, 1312)

A political slogan used by people who are opposed to the police.

link (link)

ACAB - Wikipedia

Rare

body worn video, body worn camera (BWV, BWC)

Body cameras worn by police officers.

link (link)

UCPD body camera policy: https://police.ucsc.edu/report/policies/body-worn-camera.html

Rare

carceral

"Of or pertaining to prison." Used frequently in police abolition discussions.

link (link)

Carceral Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Rare

cops off campus (COC, CoC)

A demand made by some union members, especially starting at the 2019-2020 wildcat strike.

Common

defund the police

A movement and demand to reduce the funding for police departments.

Common

Federated University Police Officers Association (FUPOA)

Union for UCPD officers

link (link)

Website: https://federateduniversitypoa.org/about-fupoa Contract: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/police-officers/contract/

Rare

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE )

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Incident Commander

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know your rights (KYR)

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memorandum of understanding (MOU)

An agreement between multiple parties.

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Memorandum of understanding (policing) (MOU)

An agreement between police agencies to come to each others assistance(?)

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National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE)

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oleoresin capsaicin (OC)

Pepper spray

Rare

police abolition (abolition)

A movement and demand to get rid of all police.

Common

Police Accountability Board (PAB)

link (link)

https://policeaccountability.ucsc.edu/ Description of powers: https://policeaccountability.ucsc.edu/bylaws/

Rare

Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBR)

Government Code section 3300 et seq.

Rare

UCSC Police Department (UCSCPD)

Uncommon

counseling memoranda

A message from the UC sent to employees regarding employment that does not (formally) count as discipline.

Uncommon

notice of intent

A notice of intent informs a worker of the disciplinary or dismissal action proposed, the reason for the proposed action including applicable documentation and the effective date(s) of the action. The nature of such notices are described in the union contracts.

Uncommon

notice of intent to dismiss (NOID)

A notice of intent to dismiss is a notificaiton sent by the UC to inform a work that they will be fired.

Uncommon

Skelly hearing

A meeting that employers are legally obligated to hold after announcing discipline against a worker.

link (link)

https://shr.ucsc.edu/elr/sup-term-guide/skelly.html

Rare

warning letter (WL)

A “written warning” is a communication that informs a worker of alleged misconduct or deficiency, the method of correction, and the probable consequence of continued misconduct or deficiency.

Common

"Fresh Air" program

The UCSC's post-2022 strike budget revamp where much of department's discretionary spending at UCSC has evaporated and unspent funds go back to central admin.

Uncommon

Academic Human Resources (AHR)

Uncommon

Academic Personnel Office (APO)

link (link)

https://apo.ucsc.edu/

Common

academic senate

A legislative body and a system of committees run by and for the faculty.

link (link)

About the Academic Senate

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assistant vice president (AVP)

A subordinate of the UC President.

Rare

Board of Regents (BOR)

The University of California is governed by a 26-member Board of Regents that exercises approval over university policies, financial affairs, tuition and fees. The control of the UC by the regents is enshrined in the CA Constitution. The board of regents consists of 18 regents appointed by the governor for 12-year terms, one student appointed by the Regents to a one-year term, and seven ex officio members — the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Superintendent of Public Instruction, president and vice president of the Alumni Associations of UC and the UC president.

link (link)

Relevant portion of CA constitution: https://law.justia.com/constitution/california/article-ix/section-9/

Common

Campus Provost (CP)

See Executive Vice Chancellor and Campus Provost.

Uncommon

chancellor

Each UC campus has a chancellor who is the executive head of the campus. Each chancellor is appointed by the Board of Regents. The chancellor of each campus sets the policies, goals and strategic direction; is responsible for internal administration, operation, financial management, and discipline; oversees all faculty and staff; and appoints all members of the instructional staff. The chancellor of UCSC is Cynthia "Cindy" Larive.

link (link)

https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/governance/bylaws/bl31.html

Common

Committee on Educational Policy (CEP)

Committee in the UCSC Faculty Senate.

link (link)

https://senate.ucsc.edu/committees/cep-committee-on-educational-policy/index.html Committee members list: https://senate.ucsc.edu/about/2023-24-stcom_web.pdf

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Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP)

Provides various academic and personal support programs to first-generation to college, low-income students with diverse social and personal identities and from historically marginalized backgrounds

link (link)

https://eop.ucsc.edu/index.html

Rare

Employee & Labor Relations (LR, ELR)

The university department that serves as a liaison to campus labor unions, and represents the campus in employment matters, such as contract-violation grievances and contract negotiations.

Uncommon

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

The Equal Employment Opportunity office is an office within the Equity & Equal Protection Office.

Rare

Equity & Equal Protection (EEP)

The Equity & Equal Protection Office is responsible for the administration of UCSC’s policies and procedures regarding discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, religion, disability, sex, gender, age and other protected identities.

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Executive Vice Chancellor (EVC)

See Executive Vice Chancellor and Campus Provost.

Uncommon

Executive Vice Chancellor and Campus Provost (CPEVC, CP&EVC)

The CP/EVC UCSC’s chief academic, operations and budget officer, guiding the academic enterprise and managing the university’s day-to-day operations. As of May 2024, the CP/EVC at UCSC is Lori Kletzer.

Uncommon

principle investigator (PI)

The lead researcher for a grant project. Typically a faculty member.

Uncommon

Self-supporting graduate professional degree program (SSGPDP)

Self-supporting graduate professional degree programs (SSGPDPs) are programs in which all program costs, both direct and indirect, are covered by revenues generated by the program such as student charges or alternative revenues that are not disallowed funds (e.g., state general funds or student tuition and fees). As of 2024, there are no SSGPDPs at UCSC (https://www.ucop.edu/operating-budget/_files/ssgpdp/attachment_a_description_and_summary_table.pdf)

Rare

Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)

UCSC department in charge of parking, buses, and other transportation issues.

Rare

UC Office of the President (UCOP, OP)

The UC president is the head of the entire UC system. The current UC president is Michael V. Drake.

link (link)

https://ucop.edu/president/index.html

Common

Undocumented Student Services (USS)

Provides guidance and support to undergraduate and graduate undocumented students at UC Santa Cruz

link (link)

https://eop.ucsc.edu/undocumented_student_services/index.html

Rare

bottomliner

A person in charge of a particular action item.

Common

broketober

Many grad students are not paid during the summer. The month of October, after the summer when grad students tend to be running low on money due to a lack of summer funding and fall funding not being dispersed until Nov 1.

Rare

comrade

Fellow union members.

Common

amalgamation

Refers to the merger of two union bodies. In particular, the local unions UAW 2865 (for ASE's and GSR's) and UAW 5810 (for postdocs and AR's) combined to form UAW 4811 that was done in Fall 2023.

Common

bargaining unit

There are three statewide bargaining units in UAW 4811: Academic Student Researchers (ASE), Post-docs (PD), and Academic Researchers (AR). Beyond UAW, there are 15 bargaining units in the UC, as of 2024.

link (link)

List of all bargaining units in the UC

link (link)

along with their contracts: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/

UC FAQ about bargaining units: Frequently asked questions about bargaining units

List of all bargaining units in the UC, along with their contracts: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/

UC FAQ about bargaining units: Frequently asked questions about bargaining units

Common

Campus Unit

Common

executive board (EB)

The EB is a governing body for the statewide union consisting of eleven members. Decisions of the EB may be overruled by the Joint Council. As of May 2024, the only member of the EB from UCSC is Jacob Fortana.

link (link)

LEADERSHIP — UAW 4811

Common

head steward

As of May 2024, the head stewards at UCSC are Isabel Kain and Summer Sullivan.

link (link)

LEADERSHIP — UAW 4811

Uncommon

horizontal

Refers to grassroots organizing that happens among the rank-and-file, instead of top-down direction from the leadership.

Common

International Executive Board (IEB)

As of May 2024, includes Shawn Fain as President, the Secretary-Treasurer, 3 Vice Presidents, and the Directors of each of the Regions. For the most part, we don't directly interface with them at all, but when they go up for election, we can vote for those positions, as their decisions have material impacts (for example, they have made decisions on the amount of strike pay per week).

Rare

International UAW (IUAW )

Rare

Joint Council (JC)

Uncommon

Membership Election Form (MEF)

Digitial or physical cards that are filled by workers to indicate whether they choose to be a member of the union.

Uncommon

organizing committee (OC)

A group of union people that meets every week. Outside of strike times, it's a small group. Handles day-to-day issues, such as filing grievances, and handling long-term planning. open to everybody. Meets on Fridays. Tends to be focused on strategic decisions.

Common

rank and file (R&F)

Members of the union that are not in leadership.

Common

Statewide Membership Meeting (SMM)

I believe that the UAW 8411 by-laws mandate one SMM per year, and they may be called at-need otherwise. It is similar to a JC meeting, but all members who attend are entitled to a vote, and it’s decisions are “stronger” than JC decisions just like JC decisions are stronger than EB: any decision of the smaller body may (theoretically) be overruled by the larger. In practice, an email will go out to all members about the meeting time and place. They are often long, and quite formal with regards to Robert’s Rules etc. They often include particularly important decisions

Uncommon

UAW 4811

See UAW Local 4811. Often, "Local" is left out when discussing UAW Local 4811 since it is somewhat confusing that the "local" union is statewide, covering all of the UC campuses.)

link (link)

https://www.uaw4811.org/

Common

UAW Constitution

The constitution of the international UAW and of every affiliated subordinate body (local unions). It provides the foundation for the day-to-day operations and sets forth the rights, guarantees and responsibilities of all UAW members. See also the by-laws which are specific to each local union (in our case, the statewide UAW 4811).

link (link)

UAW Constituion - UAW

United Automobile

link (link)

Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America

UAW Constituion - UAW

United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America

Uncommon

UAW Local 4811 (UAW 4811)

The chapter of United Auto Workers labor union that represents academic student employees, graduate student researchers, academic researchers, and postdoctoral researchers from all the 11 campuses of the University of California system.

link (link)

https://www.uaw4811.org/

Common

UAW Region 6

Regions are (generally) large geographical areas which have their own layer of staff. we're in Region 6, which covers "Western States": most workers in R6 are in California, but there's also some pretty heavy presence in Washington, as well as some others (many casino workers in Las Vegas are with UAW actually, with UAW 3555). key figures in a Region are the Director (the R6 Director is Mike Miller) and Servicing Reps, who are staff that can be assigned to do work with various Locals (often they could cover more than one at once, although our scale may change that; i'm not sure who the current Servicing Reps we might encounter are, although there's a good chance they're former 2865 folks who've "gone up the ladder"). one of the main roles here is that all contracts, once ratified by the workers, actually go to the Regional Director for a final round of approval. it's *extremely* unlikely that they'd overturn a contract once ratified

Rare

UnionMade

A majority caucus in the JC. They are well organized and come into JC meetings already knowing if that have the votes they need.

Rare

Graduate Preparation Program (GPP)

A short summer program at UCSC that helps prepare students who need to strengthen their English skills before they being their graduate studies.

Rare

Palestine Solidarity Coalition

A network of organizations at UCSC including Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and UC Divest.

Rare

bargaining impasse

In contract negoations, each side may file for an impasse in the negations with PERB. If PERB accepts, then the no-strike clause goes out of effect. PERB may determine that an impasse exists when “the parties have reached a point in meeting and conferring at which their differences in positions are such that further meetings would be futile." (Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act [HEERA], Government Code Section 3562(j).) Once an impasse is declared by PERB, mediation and fact-finding can take anywhere from three to eight months. In the case of the 2021 contract bargaining betweeh UC-AFT and the UC, an impasse was declared after two years of negations.

Uncommon

University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE)

Union that covers healthcare, research, and technical workers in the UC (including some national laboratories). The bargaining units within the union are Healthcare (HX), Research (RX), and Technical (TX).

Rare

California Penal Code § 409 (Section 409)

Law stating that remaining at a protest after a "lawful dispersal order" is a misdomener.

Rare

California Penal Code § 148 (Section 148)

Law prohibiting willfully resisting, delaying, or obstructing police officers or emergency medical technician.

Rare

Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP)

Rare

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

A training required by some research grants, such as from NSF.

Rare

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Rare

Department of Energy (DOE)

Rare

Department of Education (DOE)

work break (wb)

ASEs who appeared on UC’s employee list as being on a “short work break”. This usually means their ASE appointment ended last quarter and they aren't in the system as currently working but UC expects them to be rehired soon (and they could actually be working but their paperwork hasn't been processed yet).

Rare

not in unit (NIU)

Rare

Baskin School of Engineering (BSOE, SOE)

Academic Division at UCSC

Rare

First-Year Exam (FYE)

A test taken at the end of the first year of PhD programs in some departments, including Applied Math.

Univeristy of California, Berkeley (UCB, BK)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Merced (UCM)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC, SC)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB, SB)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Los Anglelos (UCLA, LA)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Davis (UCD, DV)

Rare

Univeristy of California, San Francisco (UCSF, SF)

Rare

University of California Law San Francisco

Formerly UC Hastings

Rare

Univeristy of California, San Diego (UCSD, SD)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Irvine (UCI)

Rare

Univeristy of California, Riverside (UCR)

Rare

Declined Membership and Uncontacted (DU)

This worker declined union membership on their hiring paperwork (did not sign a membership election form). None of their coworkers has contacted them about joining their union yet.

Rare

Revoked membership (DN)

This worker was previously a member, up until they declined union membership on their hiring paperwork.

Rare

Do Not Contact (DNC)

This worker indicated that they do not want to be contacted about the union.

Rare

working group (WG)

An collection of people working on a particular task or project.

Common

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR)

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources "connects the power of UC research in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition and youth development with local communities to improve the lives of all Californians."

Rare

Locally Designated Official (LDO)

The person designated by each UC campus as the official with primary responsibility to receive reports of allegations of suspected improper governmental activities. At UCSC, as of 2024, the LDO is Anna Finn, Associate Chancellor & Chief of Staff.

Rare

Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO)

At UCSC, as of 2024, the CECO is Anna Finn, Associate Chancellor & Chief of Staff.

Rare

strike

A strike is a temporary stoppage of work by a group of workers (not necessarily union members, although we have well-established unions at UCSC) to express a grievance or enforce a demand. A strike is initiated by workers in contrast to a lock out which is done by an employer.

work day

A work day is defined as the weekdays Monday through Friday excluding Federal holidays.

boycott

A boycott is a concerted refusal to have dealings with to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions.

Bay Resistance

A project that provides hardship funds during strikes. It is run by the Center for Empowered Politics, which is itself (apparently) a lobbying and activism organization for the Chinese Progressive Association.

hardship fund

A fund that provides money to invididuals during strikes and other activist actions in reponse to personal hardships caused by those activities. Information about a the Bay Resitance 2024 hardship fund is available here: UAW Hardship fund: steps to apply Bay Resistance 2024.

daily sheet

1-page document for sharing publicly

UNITE HERE

A labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries.

Student Health Center (SHC)

The on-campus UCSC medical clinic.

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)

Rare

Beck right

Federal law allows unions and employers to enter into "union-security" agreements which require all employees in a bargaining unit to become union members and begin paying union dues and fees within 30 days of being hired. Employees may choose not to become union members and pay dues, or opt to pay only that share of dues used directly for representation, such as collective bargaining and contract administration. Known as objectors, they are no longer union members, but are still protected by the contract. Unions are obligated to tell all covered employees about this option, which was created by a Supreme Court ruling and is known as the Beck right. (Source: https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/union-dues)

right-to-work laws

Laws that prohibit union security agreements in contracts between employers and labor unions. A union security agreement requires employees who are not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation.

union security agreement

If included in a union contract, a union security agreement requires employees who are not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation.

reader

A reader is an academic student work who assess student assignments, give feedback, and (typically) provide assignment grades. Readers are gereally paid hourly and often are undegraduate students.

Common

CruzFly

A online tool used to submit trip reimbursements related.

picket line

Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. The purpose of picketing is to encourage people to not "cross the picket line", give strikers a place to congregate, and raise awareness of strikes. Although pickets usually happen at the same time as strikes, they are distinct events.

2024 memorandum of understanding (2024 MOU)

An agreement between two parties. In the context of the 2024 strike, an MOU was established between the UC and UAW 4811 to create an expedited processes for resolving improper discipline and wage thefts by the UC.

Common

University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP)

Study abroad program for undergrads.

Rare

retaliation (retal)

Retaliation is action such as discpline, discrimination, or dismissal taken against workers for union activities, such as strikes or filing complaints against the UC. There are laws that protect workers from retaliation in many cases.

Common

grievance mediation

Grievance mediation is an optional step in resolving complaints against the UC

Common

fee remission

Fee remission means that the UC does not charge fees that it would otherwise.

Common

appointment security

Appointment security means that the UC cannot withdraw an job offer after it has been accepted.

Common

centralized transitional funding (TF)

Transitional funding is short-term funding offered to grad students to allow students to change advisors/funding sources due to having ethical complaints about their research or have a bad relationship with their advisor. If the transitional funding is provided by the UC (instead of departments), then it is called centralized transitional funding. Centralized transitional funding was a demand of the 2024 strike. In October 2024, the UC started to offer transitional funding to UCLA students.

Uncommon

workload protections

Workload protections, ensrined in the contracts, ensures that the UC cannot ask workers to work beyond the number of hours stated in their appointment, nor beyond a daily limit of 8 hours.

Common

reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the system for a person based on a proven need.

Common

statewide (SW)

In the context of the local union chapter, "statewide" refers to the UAW 4811 leadership.

Uncommon

Clery Act

The Clery Act is a 1990 federal law equires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses.

Rare

Academic Personnel Manual (APM)

UC Student Association (UCSA)

"UCSA/UCGPC fees are charged quarterly. Students can opt out of these fees using the opt out form found under their corresponding (Undergrad/Grad) eForms tile. Look for the UCSA/UCPGC Registration Fee Opt-out link. Deadline for opting out for Fall 2024 is October, 16 2024."

UC Graduate and Professional Councill (UCGPC )

Student Business Services (SBS)

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (DepCare)

DepCare is a flexible spending account (FSA) that workers can pay into pre-tax to spend on childcare. It is paid for by workers, not the UC.

de minimis

Definition: "Lacking significance or importance: so minor as to merit disregard." For workers on fellowships, "de minimis service" disqualifies them from joining the union, per Article 1 of the 2022-2025 GSR contract.

Uncommon

Student Services Fee

The Student Services Fee covers services that benefit the student and that are complementary to, but not part of, instructional programs. The fee supports operating and capital expenses for services related to the physical and psychological health and well-being of students, social and cultural activities and programs, services related to campus life and campus community, and educational and career support services.

Uncommon

UCnet

UCNet appears to bee a catch-all UC website for employee resources, including info about benefits and contracts with various unions.

Rare

personal time off (PTO)

Common

arbitration

Arbitration is a process of bringing a dispute before a independent third party. For UAW complaints, arbitration occurs after the grievance process (between UAW and the UC directly) is exhausted. Only UAW may bring complaints to arbitration—not the UC.

Uncommon

Partial Fee Remission

The ASE and GSR contracts guarantee "partial fee remission" when workers work 50% or more. The "partial" part of the name is a misnomer, since it covers all campus fees.

Common

Joint Labor Meeting (JLM)

A Joint Labor Management meeting is a meeting between Labor Relations and the union, usually to discuss new policies or changes in workplace conditions. Many of these happened during the pandemic transition to remote work, for example. They are formal meetings, but they are not negotiations.

Rare

Run of Show (RoS)

"A Run of Show is a comprehensive, detailed plan encapsulating an event's timeline, flow, and logistics. It outlines each essential action, who is responsible for it, its duration, and when it will occur." (Source: https://eventify.io/blog/event-run-of-show-with-template)

Jotform

An online survey tool used by UAW 4811.

top off (top up, top-up)

A top off was a practice by the UC to give TAs in some STEM departments to raise their wages to match the wages of GSRs. After the ratification of the 2022 contract, the UC declared that top-ffs would end, but this was overthrown as the result of a grievance filed by UAW.

insurance premium

The baseline monthly fee paid for insurance coverage regardless of the care received.

insurance copay

A copay (or copayment) is a flat fee that you pay on the spot each time you go to your doctor or fill a prescription.

insurance out-of-pocket maximum

An out-of-pocket maximum is a cap, or limit, on the amount of money you have to pay for covered health care services in a plan year. If you meet that limit, your health plan will pay 100% of all covered health care costs for the rest of the plan year. Some health insurance plans call this an out-of-pocket limit. A plan year is the 12 months between the date your coverage is effective and the date your coverage ends.

coinsurance

Coinsurance is a portion of the medical cost you pay after your deductible has been met.

Student Health Services (SHS)

University of California Medical Center (UCMC)

Quarry Plaza (QP)

The courtyard between the UCSC bookstore, and Iveta and the GSC

insurance deductible

A deductible is the amount you pay each year for most eligible medical services or medications before your health plan begins to share in the cost of covered services.

new employee orientation (NEO)

loco parentis

The Latin term in loco parentis, which means “in place of a parent,” or “instead of a parent,” refers to situations in which someone other than a biological parent takes on the role of parent to a minor child without formally adopting the child.

Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan (GSHIP)

A health insurance plan offered to graduate student at some UC campuses. It is an alternative to UCSHIP.

CA Senate Bill No. 698 (SB 698)

Establishes penalties for late payment of wages by the UC.

open enrollment

California State University (CSU)

The California State Univeristy is a public university system in California that exists in parallel to the UC system.

time, place, and manner policies (TPM)

Silicon Valley Campus (SVC)

A UCSC satellite campus for the Baskin School of Engineering. Located in Santa Clara.

Office of the Chief Investment Officer (OCIO)

Vice President, Human Resources (VP-HR)

Among other jobs, the VP-HR administers retirement funds.

2013 California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA)

SOAR/Student Media/Cultural Arts and Diversity (SOMeCA)

A UC department that imposes restrictions on freedom of speech.

Black Lives Matter (BLM)

Student Organization Advising and Resources (SOAR)

The SOAR Office is an office at UCSC.

California Department of Public Health (CDPH)

associate instructor (AI)

University Affiliated Research Center (UARC)

A UARC is a Department of Defense reserach center at a univeristy.

Statement of Legal Residence (SLR)

The SLR is a form submitted by all new students to determine whether the are classified as residents. Used to determine whether students need to pay Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (NRST).

California Highway Patrol (CHP)

The CHP is state-wide California police force that primarily enforce traffice laws on California freeways, but also is typically the largest and most aggresive group of law enforcement that responds to mutual aid requests to supress campus protests.

Title IX

Title IX is a federal civil rights law in the United States that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.

Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (SVSH)

The UC's SVSH policy addresses the University’s responsibilities and procedures related to sexual violence, sexual harassment, retaliation, and other prohibited behavior.

Affirmative Action Plan (AAP)

See https://equity.ucsc.edu/eeoaa/index.html

complainant

A complainant is a person who files a formal accusation or brings a formal charge against a respondent.

respondent

A respondent is the defending party in certain legal proceedings or misconduct investigations.

referendum

A Referendum is a vote by the membership to take a certain action or adopt a certain position, such as recalling an elected officer or accepting a contract offer.

concerted activity

A concerted activity is an action taken by multiple workers to address work-related issues. Concerted activity is protected (with some exceptions) and an employer cannot discharge, discipline, or threaten you for, or coercively question you about, this "protected concerted" activity. See https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/concerted-activity

academic term

An academic term (or simply "term") is a portion of an academic year during which an educational institution holds classes. At UCSC, each term is a quarter (10 weeks), except during the summer where the terms have various lengths.

Janus v. AFSCME (Janus case)

Janus v. AFSCME is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on US labor law, concerning the power of labor unions to collect fees from non-union members. Under the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which applies to the private sector, union security agreements can be allowed by state law. The Supreme Court ruled that such union fees in the public sector violate the First Amendment right to free speech

flexible spending account (FSA)

An FSA is an account that workers can pay into pre-tax and can be used for a particular purpose, such as child care or medical expenses.

K7 Bargaining Unit (K7)

The K7 bargaining unit covers skilled workers in the UC and is a part of the AFSCME, Local Union 3299.

Student Services and Advising Professional (SSAP)

Student Services and Advising Professionals (SSAPs) are the academic advisors, admissions specialists, student life counselors, financial aid officers (and more). The UC SSAP workers unionized in 2024.

College 9 (C9)

Early Education Services (EES)

On-campus childcare for UCSC students.

System-wide Childcare Reimbursement Program

The Childcare Reimbursement Program is a system-wide program for ASE's to receive reimbursements for certain types of child care costs.

Medi-Cal

faculty senate

University Health Insurance Program

A health insurance plan offered by UCOP to non-student employees.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

DACA is a United States immigration law that allows some people who arrived in the US as children without immigration status to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit.

temporary protected status (TPS)

Temporary protected status (TPS) is given by the US government to eligible nationals of designated countries who are present in the United States. Temporary protected status is granted to people already present in the United States who are nationals of a country experiencing ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or any temporary or extraordinary conditions that would prevent the foreign national from returning safely.