Nearly 39,000 service and patient care workers at University of California medical centers and campuses statewide are set to move forward with an open-ended strike beginning early Thursday, May 14.
A top priority for Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is to halt UC management’s alleged practice of short-staffing facilities and cutting resources, said union spokesman Todd Stenhouse.
“These are UC’s lowest wage workers and they are falling further and further behind,” he said. “They are two years without a contract and the university is not investing in them. They are living on a knife’s edge.”
AFSCME officials said the workers were covered by two labor contracts. One contract, which covered custodians, food service workers, groundskeepers and parking and security personnel, expired Oct. 31, 2024. The other contract, which covered workers in patient care units, including medical assistants, MRI technicians, operating room assistants, respiratory therapists and licensed vocational nurses, expired July 31, 2024.
The union also has raised concerns about UC spending billions acquiring new facilities and “lavishing exorbitant raises on its wealthiest executives” at the expense of frontline workers, Stenhouse said.
AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant said in a statement that UC has imposed terms that amount to pay cuts and refused to bargain over the housing crisis that is most responsible for its members being “forced to sleep in their cars and in homeless shelters.”
UC has previously stated that it is aware of the allegations of some workers living in homeless shelters and sleeping in cars. “We recognize that many employees are facing real pressures related to housing, commuting, and the high cost of living, and those concerns are central to these negotiations,” said a UC spokeswoman in a statement a month ago.
Since bargaining began in January 2024, UC has increased its proposal from roughly 25% total pay growth to 33% as of April 24, while adding a ratification bonus of up to $1,000. UC said it also added longevity payments for long-serving employees and new caps and offsets to manage rising healthcare costs through 2029.
If ratified, the total 33% pay increase would be paid retroactively from 2024 to 2029.
When reached late Wednesday, a UC spokeswoman said the two parties were currently at the bargaining table, “working collaboratively to reach a deal.”
Union picketing is to last from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday at all UC campuses and medical centers. Those facilities include UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center, UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, UC Riverside and UC San Diego Medical Center Hillcrest.
Daily rallies are planned at 11:30 a.m. until the union reaches an agreement with UC.