A statement by Dr. Tina Fetner, President of the Canadian Sociological Association, Chair of the Sociology Department at McMaster University, and Chair of the Collective Behavior and Social Movements section of the American Sociological Association.

I write to offer my strong support of striking graduate workers throughout the University of California system who are asking for a cost of living adjustment that takes extremely high housing costs into account. I recognize the value of the work that graduate students do to support the educational mission of universities. These are the workers on the front line of undergraduate education and universities would be unable to continue without them.

I support fair compensation and working conditions for all graduate workers, and I encourage the University of California campuses to come to terms in dialogue with graduate workers that result in fair compensation and working conditions. As a proud alumna of UC Santa Cruz, I implore university administrators to address this labour dispute with integrity and fair dealing.

Tina Fetner