Faculty Solidarity: Supporting Classified Staff on Strike

A Guide to Supporting Our Union Siblings While Protecting Your Role

Classified staff are the backbone of the college. When they strike, the goal is to demonstrate that the college cannot function without their essential labor. As faculty, your support can amplify their message and pressure the administration to reach a fair agreement.

✅ The "DO" List: Ways to Show Support

  • Join the Picket Line (on your own time): You can walk the line, hold a sign, and chant with staff during your lunch break, before or after your scheduled work hours, or on your days off.
  • Contribute to the Strike Fund: Financial contributions to the union’s hardship or strike fund are one of the most direct ways to help them stay on the line.
  • Bring Supplies: Physical support is always welcome. Water, coffee, snacks, or even hand warmers (in cold weather) boost morale and keep the line energized.
  • Educate Your Students: Use the moment as a "teachable moment." Explain what a strike is, why the staff are striking, and how the working conditions of staff directly impact the learning conditions of students.
  • Speak Up to Administration: Send letters or emails to the Dean, VP’s, SLT, President or Board of Directors. Let them know that you support the staff’s demands and that the lack of staff labor is impacting your ability to do your job.
  • Wear Solidarity Gear: Wear union buttons, stickers, or "solidarity colors" (Red) while on campus to show visible support. We are allowed to talk about union business at work.

❌ The "DON’T" List: Legal & Professional Boundaries

  • DON'T stop your own work: Unless your own union is also on strike, you cannot engage in a "sympathy strike" by refusing to teach your classes or perform your duties. Doing so may be a violation of your contract and could lead to discipline.
  • DON'T do the struck work: This is the most important rule. Do not become a "strikebreaker" by doing the jobs of the striking staff. * Example: If the administrative assistant is on strike, do not answer the main office phones or file paperwork that is normally their responsibility. Let the work go undone to show the impact of their absence. This also includes creating contingency plans for the administration. You can share the impact of not having classified and offer suggestions but try to avoid creating the contingency plan yourself for the administration – that is their job.
  • DON'T engage in "Work Slowdowns": You must continue to perform your job at a normal pace. Purposely delaying grades or slowing down any administrative tasks that are part of your primary assignment to support the strike is generally not legally protected.
  • DON'T move classes off-campus without approval: While tempting to "respect the picket line" by not crossing it, moving your class to a private home or cafe without university authorization can lead to insurance and liability issues.
  • DON'T pressure staff who choose to work: Every worker’s financial situation is different. While solidarity is the goal, harassing or "scabbing" colleagues can create long-term resentment and legal issues for your own union.

⚖️ The Golden Rule of Solidarity

"Don't do their work; let the absence of their labor be felt." The most effective way to support striking staff is to allow the college to feel the genuine "friction" of their absence. When systems break or offices are closed, it proves how vital those workers are.

One Caveat: if an administrator gives you a direct order to do something (assuming its not something illegal), comply and report it to us asap so we can grieve or take action in another way. We don’t want you placing yourself in a situation where you can face disciplinary action for refusing a directive.