Few Natural Science Classes Affected By Teaching Assistant Strike In Calif.

A MATTER OF PERCEPTION: While T.A. union officials at UC-Berkeley say that 30 percent of T.A.-classes in the natural sciences were shut down, an associate dean calls the union's figures, "wildly exaggerated." Teaching assistants (T.A.'s) boycotted their classes and set up picket lines at three campuses of the University of California (UC) for a week in November in an unsuccessful bid to pressure the administration to engage in collective bargaining with their unions. While estimates of the st

Robert Finn

Jan 5, 1997

A MATTER OF PERCEPTION: While T.A. union officials at UC-Berkeley say that 30 percent of T.A.-classes in the natural sciences were shut down, an associate dean calls the union's figures, "wildly exaggerated."

Teaching assistants (T.A.'s) boycotted their classes and set up picket lines at three campuses of the University of California (UC) for a week in November in an unsuccessful bid to pressure the administration to engage in collective bargaining with their unions. While estimates of the strike's impact varied widely, both union and university spokespersons noted that fewer T.A.'s in the natural sciences went on strike than did T.A.'s in the humanities and social sciences. However, if legal proceedings ultimately force the university to recognize a T.A. union, dealings with all UC teaching assistants would be affected.

The strike, dubbed "Rolling Thunder" by its organizers, began at UCLA on Monday, November 18. As planned, it spread to UC-San...

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