Almost 60,000 University of California (UC) workers represented by two prominent unions began a strike on Wednesday. The walkout, spurred by allegations of unfair labor practices, involved around 37,000 service and patient care workers from AFSCME Local 3299 participating in a two-day strike, while approximately 20,000 health care, research, and technical professionals from UPTE-CWA Local 9119 initiated a three-day strike.
Picketing is expected across all ten UC campuses, including UC San Diego, and at medical facilities statewide. The unions assert that despite a year of negotiations for new contracts, the university has failed to address critical issues such as declining real wages and a staffing crisis impacting patient care and research.
AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant criticized the university for not engaging constructively in negotiations, accusing UC of implementing arbitrary rules to silence workers and inhibit their access to union representation. “It’s time the university started listening to us and engaging in constructive negotiations rather than intimidation tactics,” Avant stated, emphasizing that workers are exercising their legal rights to strike.
The contract for AFSCME Local 3299 expired in 2024, while UPTE’s contract ended in October. UPTE’s statewide president, Dan Russell, asked for more meaningful dialogue, stating that the university has largely ignored their counterproposals. He described the current labor negotiations as a whistleblowing effort on behalf of patient care and research against a backdrop of skyrocketing administrative salaries and extensive capital projects funded by the university.
In response, UC officials expressed disappointment with the strike’s initiation, asserting that meaningful wage increases and health care premium reductions had been offered to the unions, accusing them of spreading misinformation and focusing on strike preparation rather than genuine negotiation. “Both unions have chosen to focus their energy on strike preparation and amplifying misinformation rather than negotiating in good faith,” UC officials claimed.
As the strike unfolds, both unions are determined to push for their demands, signaling that they are ready to withhold their labor until the university takes their concerns seriously.
