UC Santa Cruz health care workers, researchers and IT workers plan to hold a rally on campus Thursday afternoon to demand that after the statewide union they belong to filed an unfair labor practice claim on Friday and scheduled a strike authorization vote for next week.
The workers will be joined by state Sen. John Laird and Assemblymember Gail Pellerin.
The University Professional and Technical Employees-CWA Local 9119 (UPTE) represents about 19,000 University of California system workers, including physician assistants, pharmacists, mental health clinicians and IT workers. They work at UC residential campuses, medical centers and research facilities across the state. The union represents 223 workers at UCSC’s campus, according to union spokesperson Zac Goldstein.
Because a bargaining session for a statewide contract is taking place at UCSC this week, the union is hosting a rally at the Santa Cruz campus. Since bargaining began about four months ago, said Goldstein, other campuses have hosted actions and rallies as well.
At the rally Thursday, the union will “condemn management’s refusal to address or acknowledge the recruitment and retention crisis plaguing UC statewide, affecting the outcomes of UC’s patients, students, and the community at large.”
Amelia Cutten, a behavioral health counselor at UC Santa Cruz and member of UPTE’s bargaining team, said she sees the importance of mental health support for students every day.
“UC needs to understand that when they invest in their employees, they’re investing in the well-being and success of our students,” Cutten said in a statement. “We don’t want to strike, but if that’s what we have to do to end UC’s unfair labor practices and make UC prioritize our students’ well-being and recognize the vital role we play in their success, then we’ll be ready.”
On Monday, the union will open voting for members to decide whether they will authorize the union’s leadership to strike. The union will also announce which campuses will be called to participate if a strike is successfully authorized.
“UC has now decided to increase employee healthcare costs significantly,” UPTE officials said in a statement. “UC plans to hike premiums by 9 to 11 percent, eliminate the only no-cost insurance option, raise outpatient co-pays from $20 to $30, and force employees to cover thirty percent of specialty drug prices. To make matters worse, UC never discussed these changes with UPTE and is imposing the new policy unilaterally.”
UC labor communications specialist Heather Hansen said the strike authorization vote is “frustrating and disheartening.” She said UC negotiators have proposed “premium subsidies to offset rising health care costs” and “historic wage increases” that have brought the average salaries from $154,000 to $183,000.
“It seems like no matter what we presented at the table, striking was a foregone conclusion,” she said, in a statement. “We are disappointed in today’s announcement and hope UPTE can reconsider its position and return to the table this week with the same resolve our team will have to continue bargaining toward a negotiated agreement.”
Rally details
When: Thursday, Oct. 17, from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: UCSC Merrill Cultural Center, 641 Merrill Rd., Santa Cruz.
FOR THE RECORD: This story was updated to clarify that UPTE also represents members including researchers and IT workers.
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