University Professional and Technical Employees CWA Local 9119 (UPTE CWA 9119) was founded in 1990 by a group of employees who believed that University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory workers would benefit from a union to safeguard and expand our rights. In 1993, UPTE members voted to affiliate with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a 700,000-member union in the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest federation of unions in the United States.

In 1994, 4,000 UC technical employees voted for UPTE representation. In 1996, 3,700 UC research professionals joined them, and in 1997, 2,000 UC healthcare professionals followed suit. UPTE has grown to 20,000 as UC’s Medical Centers have expanded, and we have added new titles to all of our bargaining units.

Part-time faculty at Butte College, College of the Sequoias, and Mt. San Jacinto College and Skilled Trades workers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are also covered by UPTE contracts. Employees at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have built an UPTE chapter, and the Society of Professionals, Scientists, and Engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Lab is also affiliated with UPTE.