Quick Take
Two unions representing about 55,000 University of California employees are holding multiday strikes starting Wednesday at UC campuses statewide, including UC Santa Cruz. Union officials say they’re striking over unfair labor practice charges they filed against the UC, accusing the university of infringing on their free speech rights.
Two unions that represent about 55,000 University of California employees working in patient care, transportation and other areas will hold multiday strikes at UC campuses, including UC Santa Cruz, starting Wednesday after accusing the university of bad faith bargaining and violating their free speech rights to advocate about wages and staff vacancies.
In separate unfair labor practice charges filed against the UC, the unions, AFSCME 3299 and UPTE 9199, say new policies limiting protest activities violate their free speech rights.
Depending on the UC campus, the new policies limit where workers can pass out leaflets, UPTE claim says. For example, at UC Merced, the claim says, there’s a limit to passing out flyers 30 feet from doors, walkways, roadways and parking areas: “essentially forcing any protests to be out in the middle of nowhere.”
In a message to campus on Friday, UC Santa Cruz Campus Provost Lori Kletzer said the university isn’t certain how the strike will affect the operation of residential parts of campus, but that it’s expecting the labor action will have impacts on other services.
“We anticipate the strikes will have noticeable impacts to the services provided by campus dining, transit and health services,” she wrote in the statement. “We will be focusing our efforts on instructional and operational continuity, to fulfill our mission of teaching, research and public service.”
She said UCSC will share updates about impacts to campus operations on this website.
Dan Russell, an information technology worker at UC Berkeley who serves as statewide president and chief negotiator for UPTE (University Professional and Technical Employees), said in a statement that UC officials haven’t provided “substantive” counteroffers to the union’s proposals and aren’t addressing a staffing crisis.
“UPTE members will not allow UC to drag out negotiations indefinitely, and we have made it clear that we are more than willing to withhold our labor if that’s what it takes to make UC take our concerns seriously,” Russell said in a statement. “Instead of engaging with us, UC is silencing the very whistleblowers fighting for our patients.”
AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) 3299, which represents UC employees working in custodial, transportation, patient care and dining, will hold a two-day strike for Wednesday and Thursday at all UC campuses and medical centers. The second union, UPTE 9119 will hold a three-day strike Wednesday through Friday.
UC officials, in a Friday statement, said they have offered “meaningful” counterproposals for wage increases and health care premium reductions. They accuse the unions of not bargaining in good faith.
“The University of California is disappointed that AFSCME and UPTE plan to strike,” they wrote. “Both unions have chosen to focus their energy on strike preparation and amplifying misinformation rather than negotiating in good faith.”
AFSCME 3299 represents about 37,000 employees systemwide, including more than 27 patient care workers and 474 custodial and transportation workers at UC Santa Cruz. Union officials have been negotiating for a new contract for nearly a year. The contract for the patient care unit expired July 31, while the service worker unit contract expired Oct. 31.
UPTE 9199 represents about 19,000 physician assistants, pharmacists, mental health clinicians and IT workers across the University of California system. There are about 223 workers represented by UPTE at UCSC. Union officials have been negotiating for eight months and their contract expired in October.
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