University of California laboratory technicians, information technologists, museum and health care workers went on strike Wednesday to protest what they say are staffing shortages and other grievances.
According to the University Professional and Technical Employees union, UPTE CWA 9119, thousands of workers will participate in a statewide strike through Friday. The strike will take place across all 10 UC campuses as well as hospitals and laboratories like Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 is joining the strike.
AFSCME represents 36,683 service and patient care UC employees across the system, according to Heather Hansen, spokesperson for the UC Office of the President. AFSCME contracts expired in October after bargaining that began January 2024. UPTE contracts also expired in the fall after bargaining began in June 2024.
Union workers are walking out in response to a list of unfair labor practices, including restrictions on the union’s right to protest and a stalemate in contract negotiations, but their biggest grievance is staffing shortages.
“We’ve surveyed our entire membership and found that short staffing and over work was one of the absolute top complaints,” said Jamie Gardner, a staff research associate and UPTE unit representative, adding that the reasons for that can be pay below the cost of living.
“We represent the particle accelerator operators and specialty dietitians for people on intravenous feeding,” Gardner said, acknowledging that their members have specialized skills.
“Hiring has increased in the years following COVID-19, but the university is growing faster than the staff, and the staff is growing much slower than the upper-level administration jobs.”
Jamie Gardner, a staff research associate and UPTE unit representative
“There are some people that move from around the country, and around the world, that come to work at UC Berkeley,” he said. “We have a reputation as one of the preeminent public universities in the country, one of the preeminent centers of learning and research in the world. It’s not that there aren’t people who want to work here. It’s that it’s very expensive to live near pretty much all of our locations.”
Gardner said UC offers fixed rate mortgages at 2.5% for their executives, which they finance out of their private capital fund.
“We’ve asked to be included in that,” he said, adding that workers also want clear information on how to get a promotion and how to get paid when their workload has grown beyond their job requirements.
Gardner said the biggest problem is that UC has refused to give UPTE data on the number of positions that have been funded but not filled.
“Hiring has increased in the years following COVID-19,” he said, “But the university is growing faster than the staff, and the staff is growing much slower than the upper-level administration jobs.”
He cited the UC Davis California Animal Health & Food Safety Lab, where they test poultry and cattle for the presence of bird flu.
“They’ve had two people out of seven,” said Gardner. “The two women who are left running it are making some very intense personal sacrifices, and instead of having a 24-hour turnaround time for testing, it can grow out to a week.”
UC Davis spokesperson Bill Kisliuk acknowledged there have been recent fluctuations in staffing, but alternative staff are available to fill the gaps.
“Full staffing for the lab is seven people, with six qualified to do testing,” Kisliuk said, adding that one staff member will soon be returning from parental leave. “We currently have six people, including four staff technicians qualified for testing.”
A UCOP statement released Tuesday said the union failed to attend the most recent bargaining session and declared an impasse before responding to their offers. UCOP denied a staffing crisis, and said AFSCME has not responded to the university’s proposals or counterproposals since May 2024.
“Both unions have chosen to focus their energy on strike preparation and amplifying misinformation rather than negotiating in good faith,” the statement said.
“I would be so happy to settle this contract,” said Gardner. “I would be extremely happy to get back to my lab and back to my plants and back to my gene gun, as with all of my coworkers, we’re out here not getting paid.”
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