UCSC Graduate Students Begin Strike; Protest Impacts Traffic

SANTA CRUZ, CA — A strike at the University of California, Santa Cruz caused traffic delays in the area Monday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol said on Twitter. Drivers should avoid the main entrance and expect delays along Bay Street High Street and Empire Grade, the school said.

Picketers stood in the roadway and traffic to the main entrance was diverted, UCSC said on its website. Organizers said on Twitter that they were at the chancellor's office, asking him to reopen bargaining.

Graduate students withheld fall semester grades as leverage for a pay increase that they say would help them better afford the high cost of living. Students began an open-ended strike Monday, saying they would not teach, grade, hold office hours or research.

The university announced last month plans to offer doctoral students support packages and create a need-based housing supplement program to offer $2,500 until more graduate housing is available.

Graduate students told campus administrators that the offer was encouraging but insufficient, and hundreds of students would go on strike.