During a strike, withholding labor means stepping back from all work responsibilities for the duration of the strike. For many employees, this simply means not showing up to work, not answering emails, and not attending meetings.
For faculty and some APs, withholding labor may look different because of the unique nature of your work. Below is a clear breakdown of what that means.
Core Principles
While the strike is active, do not engage in any labor, including:
For Faculty:
- Do not submit final grades
- Do not assess student work
- Do not provide feedback
- Do not participate in D2L activities
- Do not answer instructional emails
- Do not respond to student questions related to coursework
- Do not attend work-related meetings or respond to work-related emails
For APs:
- Do not meet with students
- Do not do any administrative work
- Do not respond to emails, phone calls, google chats, text messages or any other forms of communication related to your work
- Do not attend work meetings
- Do not work on any work related projects
You only need to withhold this labor while the strike is active.
In-Person Courses
In addition to the core principles above:
- Do not attend or hold class sessions
- Do not meet with students about class
Hybrid and Online Courses
In addition to the core principals, withholding labor in online environments means:
- Do not attend or hold Zoom classes
- Do not maintain a presence in your online course
- Do not post announcements
- Do not engage in discussions
D2L Options
You have flexibility in how you structure your course during a strike, as long as you are not providing instruction.
Options include:
- Leave the course running without your presence
- Hide specific modules (for example, Weeks 10 and 11)
- Hide specific assignments, discussions, or assessments
- Allow assignments or unproctored exams/quizzes to be submitted during the strike but do not assess them until after the strike
- Move all assessed work earlier (for example, if you have an exam or assignment planned for after March 11, move it to Week 9 or early Week 10) and delay entering final grades until after the strike
You may shut down your D2L course entirely, but be aware this may create confusion for students and complicate grading once the strike ends.
Video tutorial on hiding modules, assignments, or deactivating your course.
It may be helpful to post an announcement on your D2L homepage explaining your absence and linking the resources we’ve created for students about the strike.
How you structure your course is up to you, as long as you are not performing instructional duties during the strike.
Email During the Strike
Faculty and APs also have options when it comes to email. The key principle is that you must not perform instructional or college work during the strike.
You may choose to:
Option 1: Fully Step Away from Email
- Do not check or respond to email at all
- Consider setting an out-of-office auto-reply message explaining you are participating in a strike and will respond when it concludes.
Option 2: Limited, Non-Work Related Email
- You may choose to check email
- You may respond to messages as long as the communication is not related to instruction, grading, coursework, meetings, or other college work
- Do not answer student questions about assignments, exams, course content, or grades
- Consider setting an out-of-office auto-reply message explaining you are participating in a strike and that your responses will be limited to non-instructional matters, for example, questions about the strike itself.
Either approach is appropriate. The important thing is that you are not performing college work.
What To Do During the Strike
Withholding labor is only one part of a successful strike. The other part is visible, collective action.
During the strike, faculty and APs are expected to:
- Attend pickets and rallies each day
- Show up consistently and visibly in union spaces
- Talk with colleagues and encourage full participation
- Reach out to students, community members, and partners to explain why we are striking
- Ask community allies for public support
- Share accurate information on social media
- Send messages of solidarity and encouragement to coworkers
- Participate in union meetings, briefings, and organizing efforts
- Volunteer for strike support roles (sign-making, logistics, outreach, media, etc.)
We will have resources and communication ready to organize members before and during the strike so you will have clear guidance about the activities taking place each day. Please contact federation@pccffap.org if you need accommodations to participate in collective action.
Visible unity builds leverage. Strong participation will help us win a fair contract faster!
After the Strike
We will be prepared to:
- Resume instruction and work
- Assess submitted work
- Submit final grades
…as soon as administration negotiates a fair and reasonable contract.
Why This Matters
We care deeply about our students, their learning, and their success. That commitment is exactly why this action matters.
A strike is designed to create disruption. Disruption is how workers demonstrate our collective power. When we withhold our labor, we make clear that this college does not run without us. Our teaching, our grading, our mentoring, and our presence are what make this institution function.
This disruption is not the goal in itself — it is the mechanism. When administration understands that the college cannot operate as usual without faculty and academic professional labor, they will have every reason to return to the table ready to negotiate a fair and reasonable contract.
Our power is collective. Our impact is real. And when we stand together, we move the institution forward. Together #WeFixPCC