UC workers will strike this week. Here’s what that means for students and patients

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.