Sarah Roberts, a medical interpreter at UCSF, and other members of the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 9119 and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 strike at the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025.
The latest strike Tuesday by University of California workers in health care, service research and other roles — limited to a single day — underscores the frustration over contract negotiations. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
Tens of thousands of workers in health care, service, research and other roles at the University of California walked off the job on Tuesday for the third time in five months as contentious contract negotiations drag on.
Labor experts said yet another strike across all UC campuses, hospitals and laboratories — this one limited to a single day — points to a high level of frustration with the state’s second-largest employer as workers push for improved wages and staffing.
“These workers — who are community members but also patients in the health care system — are determined to make sure that these jobs are sustainable and that they can remain in these jobs,” said Rebecca Givan, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University who has followed the health care industry for decades.
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Tuesday’s walkout over UC’s alleged unfair labor practices was initiated by the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), which represents about 20,000 physician assistants, pharmacists, IT analysts and others. An additional 37,000 patient care, technical and service workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) joined the strike in solidarity.
Both unions have repeatedly gone to state regulators to accuse the UC system of unlawful bad-faith bargaining, which the university strongly denies. The California Public Employment Relations Board is investigating the allegations.
At UC Berkeley on Tuesday, a long line of workers marched around campus, holding signs that read “For our patients, for our research, for our students,” and “On Strike,” before a midday rally.
“All we want is to be able to have adequate staffing, to have enough co-workers to accomplish whatever our mission is at our worksite,” said Catherine Callaway, a UC Berkeley museum scientist and UPTE worksite representative. “What it feels like day to day is looking at all the things that you can’t possibly get done, watching your co-workers slowly burn out, watching people leave before they should really have to.”
UPTE members argue that the university’s plans to increase their health care costs without bargaining over the changes will exacerbate a recruitment and retention crisis that is hurting patient care and research. The university denies that a staffing crisis is taking place, pointing (PDF) to lower turnover rates and increasing headcounts.
Last month, UC President Michael Drake announced a systemwide hiring freeze and other cost-saving measures as the university faces threats to its federal and state funding. Since contract negotiations with AFSCME and UPTE began in January and June 2024, respectively, UC has offered “generous wage increases,” expanded sick leave and other benefits to try to avoid strike disruptions, according to a statement by the university.
“These strikes cost the University system millions of dollars, at a time when federal and state funding is uncertain,” the UC statement read. “UPTE and AFSCME are not being forthright in their characterizations, which is upsetting since we’ve made sincere efforts to find mutually beneficial solutions. Regardless, we are hopeful AFSCME and UPTE will make meaningful efforts to settle these contracts soon.”
Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 9119 and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 strike at the UC Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco on Feb. 26, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
The unions argue that even if budget reductions are necessary, the cuts should not be disproportionately shouldered by their members’ paychecks and working conditions. They have noted that the university approved big raises for campus chancellors last year and continued to invest in new hospital buildings and other large capital projects.
AFSCME and UC representatives are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks, according to a university spokesperson. State regulators have intervened in the UPTE negotiations after that union declared in January that talks with UC broke down.
The strikes by UPTE and AFSCME, including for a few days in November and February, have been the largest in the country in 2024 and so far this year, according to Johnnie Kallas, who directs the Labor Action Tracker, a project by Cornell University and the University of Illinois.
In health care, education and other settings, limited-duration strikes are much more common than indefinite walkouts, which tend to be more disruptive for employers as well as workers who forgo their paychecks, Kallas added.
“Workers and their representatives in the unions are very frustrated that UC hasn’t — at least in their mind — meaningfully come to the table to resolve their outstanding issues,” he said. “But it hasn’t reached the point where, for a variety of reasons, the union and the workers have decided they want to go on an even longer strike, which would be even more disruptive.”
