The Brief

Some 20,000 University of California employees — including clinical researchers, IT analysts, mental health counselors and nurse case managers — are set to launch a three-day strike on Wednesday. The move could disrupt patient care, research and other campus functions statewide. That includes about 6,000 workers from UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC Riverside.

The UC workers are represented by University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) Local 9119. The union is currently in the middle of strained contract negotiations with the university system.

They'll join another union, AFSCME Local 3299, which includes 37,000 service workers, patient care technical workers, and other skilled craft workers. Those employees are on a two-day strike that also begins Wednesday, over similar issues.

The unions and UC have accused each other of bargaining in bad faith. The unions also charged the university with unfair labor practices before the California Public Employment Relations Board. Those charges, which include instituting restrictions that limit free speech, undergird the upcoming strike.

What do the UC workers want?

AFSCME

AFSCME's demands focus on pay increases, although additional demands include housing benefits and lower parking rates.

AFSCME has proposed:

• Annual wage increases of at least 8% over the three-year contract.
• A $25 minimum wage retroactive to 2023.

The university has proposed:

• Annual wage increases of 5% in 2025, 4% in 2026, and 3% in 2027, 2028, and 2029.
• A $25 minimum wage by July 2025.

UPTE

UPTE has proposed a number of changes to worker pay, career advancement and work-life balance. These demands include:

• A 5% raise and $25 minimum wage, retroactive to July 2023. 
• A 9% raise in 2025 and an 8% raise in 2026 and 2027. 
• The ability to work remotely two days a week.
• “Clear, objective criteria and [an] enforceable process” for promotions.

So far, the university has proposed:

• A 5% across-the-board pay increase beginning July 1.
• A 3% wage increase during the second and third years of the contract.
• A $25 hourly wage by July 1.
• A "streamlined reclassification and appeals processes to facilitate career growth."

UPTE leadership says its goal is to fix a staffing and retention crisis that harms research and patients. The university maintains there is no such crisis.

In a statement, UC spokesperson Heather Hansen said the system has been hiring more staff and that turnover is improving among UPTE-represented employees.

Max Belasco, a UCLA graduate, is now an IT worker at his alma mater’s law school. On top of his work on campus, he provides technical support for the Immigrant Family Legal Clinic at several community schools in the Koreatown/Pico Union area.

Belasco told LAist that colleagues often feel the need to apply for external positions to gain leverage when attempting to advance in their UC careers.

“That opens us up to [potentially] losing a lot of institutional knowledge, which is very specialized inside of IT,” he said.

What are the alleged unfair labor practices?

“Unfair labor practices” can include things like preventing employees from joining a union or retaliation. (Unions themselves can also be accused of committing “unfair labor practices” for things like pressuring employees to join against their will.)

The two unions in this case say the university system has imposed draconian rules that limit free speech and its ability to self-advocate.

Last year, after campus protests related to the war in Gaza, state lawmakers used the state budget act to require that UC campuses clarify their rules for public demonstrations.

The union says those rules are a burden, citing examples like restrictions on noise, distribution of leaflets, and the size of banners.

The university says it respects the organization’s freedom of expression. It also stated that it has the authority to set rules regarding where, when, and how people may express themselves on campus property, but that the rules aren’t about silencing anyone.

How might the UPTE strike impact patient care?

UPTE executive vice president Matias Campos, a staff pharmacist at UC San Francisco, said core emergency services will remain available at university hospitals.

“We ask that patients contact their provider to suss out what will be impact[ed],” he added. “We anticipate that procedures will need to be rescheduled,” along with “non-urgent clinic patient visits, to accommodate the large number of workers that will be striking.”

“This has been a hard choice,” said Michael McGlenn, a clinical psychologist at UC San Diego. He and his colleagues support the mental health of over 45,000 students.

“We care very much about our patients,” he added. “I will be honest: [I] don't love the idea of leaving them with delayed care.”

But according to McGlenn, students already “have to wait weeks, if not longer, to see a provider for their first appointment.” Then they have to wait “more weeks” for follow-up appointments. In his view, students are already being harmed by the status quo.

“The only way we can make sure that our clinics are appropriately staffed and that they have the resources we need is if we do go on strike,” he said.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.