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UC unions plan statewide strike in response to "unfair labor practices"

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Published  March 21, 2025 5:06pm PDT
Berkeley
KTVU FOX 2

 

The Brief

    • The University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 called upon their members to strike on April 1.
    • The call to action comes amid what the union identifies as "bad-faith bargaining" and "unfair labor practices" from University of California officials.
    • UC officials have expressed disappointment in the decision to strike, and contend that it is the unions who will not argue in good faith.

BERKELEY, Calif. - Two unions representing almost 60,000 University of California workers called upon their members on Friday to strike in response to "unfair labor practices" of the UC system.

The University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA) 9119 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 both announced that their members will be striking across all University of California campuses on April 1 to protest what the organizations say is the UC's unwillingness to negotiate with the unions in good faith.

UPTE-CWA 9119 – which announced its strike first and represents about 20,000 healthcare, research, and technical workers across the UC system – said the demonstration will also be held as a response to the university system's "refusal to address proposals from more than a thousand professionals."

"When we joined UPTE nearly three years ago, we brought concerns to the bargaining table about our students grappling with depression, anxiety, sexual assault, stress, and even thoughts of suicide," said Marlene Vasquez, a Behavioral Health Counselor at UC Davis. "They refused to engage with us then, and now that we’ve joined statewide negotiations with other UPTE members, we see the same pattern of bad faith."

AFSCME Local 3299 announced its strike in solidarity with UPTE-CWA 9119, claiming its members have also been adversely impacted by the UC's policies.

"Like us, they have been affected by UC’s bad-faith bargaining, which has been preventing them from reaching a fair and just contract," AFSCME Local 3299 said in a statement. "We won’t stand by."

Dig deeper:

UPTE-CWA 9119 filed its most recent charge of unfair labor practices against the UC on Monday. The filing alleges that the university system over the years has created several new job classifications that overlap with bargaining units belonging to UPTE-CWA 9119, which serves to displace workers who belong to the union by forcing newly organized groups of workers into their own separate negotiation processes.

The filing also takes issue with the UC system's handling of healthcare premiums for UPTE-CWA 9119 members. The union claimed in the filing that the university system promised premiums would remain unchanged for UPTE-represented workers "until the parties complete negotiations," but then increased premiums in January despite no agreement being reached.

Additionally, the union has alleged that the UC has not shared vacancy rates by job classification for over two years, and that related staffing issues have made it increasingly difficult for UC workers to provide care for their patients and conduct scientific research.

The other side:

The University of California, however, claims it is the unions that will not approach negotiations from a position of good faith and that it is their intransigence that prevents an agreement from being reached.

"Both unions have chosen to focus their energy on strike preparation and amplifying misinformation rather than negotiating in good faith," the Office of University of California President Michael Drake said in a statement on X. "We have offered each union meaningful wage increases, health care premium reductions, and other offers to directly address the issues they've indicated are important to their members. We have also continuously bargained in good faith; we are disappointed that AFSCME and UPTE remain unwilling to do the same."

Also, UC Office of the President spokesperson Heather Hansen told the Daily Bruin – UCLA's student newspaper – that the strikes will have a multi-million-dollar impact on the university system right when schools across the country are facing pressure and threats of funding cuts from the Donald Trump Administration.

"At a time when the University of California is facing funding reductions at both the state and federal levels and preparing for significant financial challenges ahead, we are concerned about UPTE and AFSCME’s plans to strike again," Hansen told the Daily Bruin. "These strikes put a significant financial strain on UC."

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