Strike FAQs for Supervisors/Managers

No. Supervisors must not take any action that appears to interfere, coerce or question an employee about their union activity. This includes a prohibition on asking employees if they are or intend to participate in a strike. Supervisors also must refrain from requiring employees to call in prior to participating in strike activity, regardless of normal work rules.

If an employee asks whether they can come to work, the answer is yes.

If the employee asks a supervisor whether he or she should come to work, the supervisor must say that decision is up to the employee to make.

It is important not to discuss union activities with employees, even if they want your opinion. Please respond to the employee that the decision is up to the employee to make. 

Supervisors should not engage in questions about the UAW or provide responses to employee’s questions about information received from the UAW. Supervisors should suggest that if the employee has questions about information from the UAW, the employee should take the question to the UAW.

No. Employees are free to come to work even if the UAW calls a strike. 

Supervisors and managers are expected to cross picket lines. Full-time faculty are generally considered managerial employees and as managers, would be expected to cross and work.  Those covered by a collective bargaining agreement that contains a valid no-strike clause limiting sympathy strike activity are also expected to cross and work.  

• Non-supervisory, non-managerial employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement could cross but that is a personal choice.  If they cross, they will be allowed to work.  
• If employees do not report for work as required, please contact your supervisor and/or department head. 

No. Employees have the right to work. Anyone who engages in violent, threatening or similarly illegal conduct during a strike will be subject to discipline, including termination. The University intends to provide increased security during the strike to ensure those who wish to work can do so. 

Please report incidents to staffing-plans@cornell.edu.

Employees who strike do not get paid by Cornell. 

The UAW has a strike fund it administers and provides pay to members who strike and participate in union activities, such as picketing.  According to the UAW International website, after one (1) day of striking, striking employees can receive $100/day up to $500/week.  The greatest impact of a strike is usually on the employees who strike. Employees who strike are not paid and, in many cases, there can be economic losses that are never regained.

• No. Non-exempt employees who choose not to cross a picket line will not be eligible to receive their regular hourly compensation. 
• Exempt employees who choose not to cross a picket line will have their pay reduced accordingly.

During a strike, Cornell has to continue to administer its policies as if there was no strike.  If an employee requests vacation, and under all of the other circumstances, the vacation request would be granted, then it should be granted.  If the employee requests vacation during a usual black out period, e.g., Move-In, then the vacation request would be denied.  Similarly, if an employee calls in sick and generally, we grant sick days on short notice, it would be difficult to deny the sick leave request. If the same employee is seen later on the picket line, there may be an opportunity to deny the use of sick leave accrual. 

The University is required to pay employees for the time they did work, so departments should submit the time on behalf of an employee, just like if the employee was out for another reason, e.g., illness, and the department submits their time. 

All decisions concerning eligibility for unemployment insurance are made by the New York Department of Labor.  https://dol.ny.gov/unemployment-insurance-contact; (518) 457-9000; (888) 469-7365.

Yes.  The UAW contract with Cornell contains a “no strike” clause. When the contract expires many of the terms and conditions of contract also expire including the “no strike” clause.

Generally, the parties (the UAW and the University) will conduct themselves as if the contract was still in effect.  Employees can continue to come to work; the University will provide their wages, and benefits and continue the terms and conditions of employment as if the contract had not expired. The is sometimes called maintaining the “status quo.” Often, as we did in 2022, the parties agree to a contract extension.  As of now, the UAW has not agreed to a contract extension. 

No. Usually unions do announce a strike like the UAW did with its targeted strikes of the automobile manufacturers in 2023, however, there is no requirement to do so.  Also, unions generally have an internal procedure for approving a strike that is contained in their constitution. Employers can’t challenge a strike because they believe the union failed to follow its internal procedures for authorizing a strike.

Yes, although there are no guarantees.