Visual Arts Strike Emergency Fund

Hello everyone,

We, the visual arts MFA and PhD students at UCSD, are fundraising while we are on strike. We are academic student employees striking for fair contracts. This includes living wages, better working conditions, more accessible working conditions, and increased funding for childcare.

We have been withholding our work as undergraduate TAs since November 14th and have been picketing to disrupt the day to day activities of the university until they meet our contractual demands. We are in week 3 of the strike and unsure how long it will continue. As Academic Student Employers, we are already rent-burdened. For most of us (92%), over 30% of our income goes to rent. There is a high chance that the university will withhold our pay while the strike continues. While on strike, we are being paid a small stipend by the union, which is about 65% of what we are usually paid, meaning that while the strike is ongoing, we are even more rent-burdened.

The funds we are asking for would help with rent and food. There is a campus-wide strike fund, but being a small and underfunded department at UCSD, we highly doubt we will ever see any of that money.

Thank you so much for your support.