From JPL’s Website: Strike Records

What They Wrote

Our Response

Since 2015, UAW has been involved in 104 strikes, which put over 266,000 of their members out of work for a period of time.

Striking is a powerful tool to obtain our objectives, and typically a last resort. There are many steps in contract negotiation before a strike would be considered, and all of the possible steps (including any decision to strike) would be democratically decided by JPL workers. These include choosing representatives from amongst their fellow employees, deciding on the areas most important to negotiate, signing petitions, participating in rallies and other actions, and robust discussion about next steps to win our contract.

When union members are put on the picket line by UAW, they find out firsthand just what they’re risking during an economic strike.

    We would not be “put” on the picket line “by UAW.” JPL workers would vote to authorize a strike. Under the UAW constitution, a strike can only occur after a vote in which 2/3 of members voting authorize their elected representatives to call a strike. There would be plenty of time and opportunities for JPLers to discuss whether striking is necessary to achieve our goals.

      What’s at risk?

      Paychecks from the company will stop. And strikers rarely qualify for unemployment benefits in California. Employees also may not be allowed to use PTO to cover the time they spend on the picket line.

      Correct - if you are not working, JPL has the right to withhold pay. During a strike, UAW members receive $500/per week to help cover costs like housing, medical bills, etc.

      If management bargains in good faith and we quickly reach an agreement, we would not have to consider striking. As mentioned elsewhere on this website, striking is typically a last resort after other actions, and 2/3rds of JPLers would have to vote on authorizing a strike for one to be called.

      With full knowledge of the “risks” of striking, thousands of academic workers have democratically decided to authorize strikes in the past few years to win their demands. This was illustrated perfectly in December and January by the Caltech Grad Researchers and Postdocs Union. Dissatisfied with Caltech’s failure to bargain in good faith, they voted to authorize a strike in early December. This motivated management to get down to business and resulted in a tentative agreement on January 20th, without having to actually initiate the authorized strike.

      What’s at risk?

      Depending on the timing and duration of the strike, employees may also have to pay the entire premium for any medical insurance policies.

      Again, JPL workers would vote to go on strike and there would be many opportunities for us to discuss and consider if it was necessary. Upper management would have to decide to stop paying our premiums during a strike. If upper management did decide to make us pay our entire premiums, the UAW strike fund covers the cost of COBRA during a strike.

      What’s at risk?

      Additionally, a strike could jeopardize the critical missions we are engaged on at JPL.

      We all want our missions to succeed, and none of us want to put critical work on missions or safety at risk. If JPL workers vote to authorize a strike and then actually call the strike, JPLers could decide whether to actively participate and we could take sufficient time to prepare critical assets to maintain a safe state until work could be resumed.