UC Santa Cruz

Graduate student workers from 16 UC Berkeley departments officially began their wildcat strike Monday, pledging to withhold grades and fully cease all work duties in support of a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, from UC administration.

Pay Us More UCB, a group dedicated to achieving a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for campus graduate students, started a GoFundMe page Wednesday to raise money in support of COLA strikers.

The Berkeley Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, General Assembly passed two votes Monday regarding a potential wildcat strike in support of a COLA for all UC graduate students.

In order to support graduate students in the long term, the UC system must make a dedicated effort toward upholding academic progress by giving GSIs COLA.

Student advocates visited the UC Office of the President in Oakland on March 2 to demand the UC system to divest from the Thirty Meter Telescope project on Maunakea and direct funds toward a cost-of-living adjustment for graduate student employees.

United Auto Workers, or UAW, Local 2865 — the union that represents UC graduate student instructors, teaching assistants, readers and tutors — filed unfair labor practice charges against the UC system Feb. 27 and March 2, after weeks of system-wide protests in support of a cost of living adjustment.

UC Berkeley graduate students in the department of African American studies released a letter to Chancellor Carol Christ, claiming they are ready to strike if the administration fails to meet the demands of campus organizers in support of a cost of living adjustment by March 6.  

Graduate students from several UC campuses and UC Berkeley undergraduates met for a "Cal COLA: Pay Us More UCB" general assembly meeting to discuss protest plans and a reaffirmation of their demands.

“COLA 4 All,” “Solidarity with UCSC” and “Eat the Regents” were some of the phrases written on the signs present during a protest Feb. 21, which was staged in solidarity with the UC Santa Cruz graduate students on strike for a cost of living adjustment.

Campus students gathered for an “Undergraduates for COLA at Cal” meeting Feb. 19 to discuss cross-campus solidarity and what a cost of living adjustment, or COLA, would mean for UC Berkeley.