Members at the California National Primate Research Center, a federally-funded biomedical research facility dedicated to improving human and animal health, organized a march on the boss late last year over better working conditions and demanded an equity review, which ultimately resulted in equity increases.

Emily Fletcher, an Animal Health Technician 3, shared the challenges and successes of the campaign. “It started with recognizing the high turnover and increased workload. We realized we weren’t being compensated fairly,” she said. The collective efforts and an equity letter led to pay raises for many in the unit, with employees moving up one to three steps, marking a $1 to $2 per hour increase. “It’s making it a lot easier for me to do things and not worry about living paycheck to paycheck,” Emily added, underscoring the personal impact of these raises.

Simultaneously, Animal Health Technician 4s at the Campus Veterinary Services also fought for and won an equity review, comparing their roles to those at the Primate Center.

Kim Alca, another Animal Health Technician 4, highlighted the solidarity that led to these successes. “We wrote a letter with support from our supervisors, showing the discrepancies in our pay compared to other technicians. We had one-on-one conversations with everyone on the team to create buy-in and, ultimately, ownership over what we’re fighting for. That told the university that we are united and won’t back down. These collective actions and the data we presented were crucial in winning our raises,” she said.

The practice of “flexing off” healthcare workers occurs when management believes that the number of staff on shift is greater than needed for the number of patients on caseload. It’s generally seen as a cost-cutting measure because most impacted workers are paid an hourly wage instead of a salary, and can have serious implications for workers.

“We had finally got our staffing levels up to a pretty good place when our census suddenly dropped. Management started to flex people off, first asking for volunteers who wanted to go home. That was less of an issue, but when they started mandating that people go home without pay, we sat up and took notice,” said Lea Bishop, a Speech Language Pathologist and UPTE Co-Chair at UCSD.

“People who have been there for a while were sometimes allowed to use PTO or sick time to flex off, but people on probation had to go home without pay—and the least senior people were the most likely to be sent home,” Lea recalled.

Lea brought these concerns up in a regular meeting that she and the rehab unit reps have with their director at UCSD Health, in which they try to collaboratively address issues before they become larger problems. It’s a meeting that Rehab members fought hard to get, and which includes a committee of leaders from every discipline and location. In that meeting, the staff pointed to the article in our contract that prohibits mandatory flexing off and the changing of schedules. Management put an end to the practice almost immediately.

“It’s a good reminder that having a strong working knowledge of our contract and being confident asserting that knowledge is important, but knowledge is only power if we put it into practice and aren’t afraid to back it up with action,” Lea concluded.

UPTE is proud to be a member-led union, and our annual convention will be a powerful gathering of our member leaders from across the state.

Each campus/chapter is assigned a proportional number of delegates to the convention based on membership. The delegate nomination period for this year's convention was open from May 21 through June 5, 2024. In chapters where the number of confirmed nominations was equal to or less than the number of allotted seats, nominees were elected by acclamation as delegates representing their chapter at this year's convention.

An election will be held to elect delegates from chapters where the number of candidates exceeds the number of allotted seats. This election will be held electronically and managed by ElectionBuddy. The election period will begin on July 8, 2024, and end on July 15, 2024.

You can find a list of delegates elected by acclamation, as well as candidates in contested elections, at upte.org/elections. The campuses with contested elections this year are:

• UC San Francisco (27 allotted delegates)

• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (6 allotted delegates)

• UC Davis (23 allotted delegates)

• UC Santa Cruz (5 allotted delegates)

• UC Los Angeles (25 allotted delegates)

• UC San Diego (21 allotted delegates)

• UC Berkeley (9 allotted delegates)

Although strong contracts aren’t won by expert negotiators alone, having frontline members from every campus and across job titles is essential. We are the subject matter experts in our day-to-day work and know better than anyone what we need to advance our world-changing research, provide life-saving patient care, and make sure our technical expertise is respected.

UPTE’s bargaining team at UC is comprised of 25 members from a range of healthcare, research, and technical job titles from each UC campus and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Each month, we’ll highlight members of our bargaining team from various UC campuses and workplaces. You can find a full roster of our bargaining team here.

What motivated you to run for the bargaining team?

Jamie Gardner - UC Berkeley, Staff Research Associate 2: Research workers make up a big part of UPTE’s membership at Berkeley, but we've been less organized than some of our union siblings. A lot of us are the only UPTE members in our lab or work team, we have high turnover, and it's a field that appeals to introverts. So I agreed to step up and help organize. It's been great talking to research workers across the state, talking shop, seeing where we have the same issues, and finding places where the rules are wildly different for no apparent reason.

Jonathan Bradford - UC Berkeley, Principal Lab Mechanician: I wasn't initially planning on running because I was worried about the amount of time I would be away from work and didn’t want to fall behind on projects. After more thought and out of a sense of duty to my fellow members at Berkeley, as well as my desire to win our best contract ever for our members statewide, I decided to run for the bargaining team so I could bring my firsthand experience and perspective to the table with UC administrators and represent the priorities of me and my colleagues.

Thanks to everyone who joined our pre-bargaining town hall last night. There was such demand to get in that we had to upgrade our Zoom account to accommodate everyone—while this is a fantastic problem to have, it does mean that folks who tried to join in the first ten minutes may not have been able to get into the meeting.

As a result, we're sharing a recording here with everyone who RSVP'ed so that you can watch it at your leisure and also share with your colleagues.

Max Belasco, an IT worker at UCLA, asked, "Can someone tell me in the chat what UC loves to say when we come to them and ask them to address our issues like worker retention, staffing, or below-market pay? That's right. When we ask UC to address our concerns, which ultimately impact our patients, our students, and our research, they pretend they don't have the money. Nothing could be further from the truth, as UC continues to spend billions on hospital acquisitions, hand out generous raises to Chancellors and CEOs, and hire more and more top administrators."

"Every action we take between now and winning a new contract is about demonstrating to the boss that we have the unity to pull off a super majority strike statewide," said Anastasia Vourakis, a Physical Therapist at UC Davis. "Now I know 15,000 people sounds like a big number, but if each of our leaders statewide talks to an average of only 10 people, we will hit a super majority of our coworkers across the system."

Recently, the University of California announced that the annual cost of living raises for workers not covered by a collective bargaining agreement will be 4.6%. That's just for people who don't belong to a union. UPTE members, however, were eligible for a step increase in January and will receive an additional 3% in July—meaning that most UPTE members will receive 5% in 2024.

Over the life of this current contract, we won 29% in raises for RX and TX members and 32% for HX members. This came after a long fight that involved massive statewide mobilizations, including thousands of us going on strike. During that same period of time, our nonunion colleagues had no raises guaranteed—in some years, they received up to 3% depending on UC's discretion, and in years like 2020 they didn't receive a raise at all.

The raises we won in our contract are a minimum: we are actively campaigning for market and internal equity, reclassification, and shift differentials in addition to our contractual raises—and we're winning.

In addition to these contractual benefits, we've also fought and won additional pay and better working conditions up and down the state through our collective strength and solidarity.

You can learn more about those recent victories here.

None of what we've won would have been possible without our members being willing to work together and take action. It's clear that when we're organized and united, we have real power at work. That's the UPTE difference.

On May 21, UPTE’s bargaining team of Systems Administrators reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) with UC regarding pay scales and paid time off for SAs 1-3. Last week, these members voted overwhelmingly to ratify their TA, which now becomes official. 

Under the newly-ratified agreement, we were able to move UC from an initial offer of $74,000 for average SA3 starting pay to $94,000 and from an initial offer of $118,000 for SA3 max pay to $147,000. This means that nearly 100 Systems Administrators who are currently paid below Step 1 will see significant raises, some more than 20%.

"The inclusion of Systems Administrators in UPTE has been a seven-year ordeal in which the University of California repeatedly delayed negotiations and denied contractually obligated pay increases to SAs, making it harder to plan secure futures of ourselves, our families, and our careers,” said Joseph Menke, a Systems Administrator and UPTE Unit Representative from UC Davis who also served on the bargaining team. “I’m proud of the persistence and dedication of every member who was involved in making this agreement possible.”

Joseph continued, saying, “The agreement that we reached is a big step forward, providing pay increases for many long-time staff and a salary floor much closer to industry norms, but much more needs to be done to fix persisting pay inequities and improve how the university supports emerging technologies and secures research data. These are issues that we will be focused on in the upcoming TX contract negotiations and beyond."

UPTE members in the healthcare and research units at UCSF are flexing their collective muscles, winning equity adjustments and putting management on notice that we’re organized and serious about our demands. Physician assistants (PAs) achieved a significant eight percent mid-contract pay equity adjustment effective June 23, 2024, while staff research associates (SRAs) and lab assistants marched on university management demanding recognition of their vital work.

“This victory wouldn’t have happened without the tireless advocacy of UPTE members, colleagues, and our community. It was possible because we did the hard work of engaging with our colleagues and increasing our membership to over ninety percent before we finally were granted this well-deserved adjustment for our non-senior PA colleagues,” said Matthew Stephen, a UCSF PA who serves as an UPTE Chapter Co-Chair and our statewide Secretary. “As UC continues to consolidate and acquire hospitals across the state, now is the time for union members to stand together during bargaining to reset UC’s priorities to better serve PAs and our patients.”

In a parallel show of solidarity and strength, SRAs and lab assistants at UCSF recently organized a march on their boss to highlight ongoing workplace issues. Kaley Vittoria, an SRA 2 at UCSF for nearly a year-and-a-half, said, “Just remember, it starts with one action together, and when you get that ball rolling, it will continue. It’s scary at the moment, but after the fact, now I feel even more powerful because I know the ball is rolling. Whatever will come after that, management will be aware of our issues. If they don’t respect those issues, we will continue to fight for what’s right.”

Earlier in the year, UPTE workers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a center for oceanography and Earth science based at UC San Diego, in La Jolla, won a seismic change in sea pay policy.  As union members, we know nothing is final until a formal written agreement codifies it—and after years of negotiating, the new sea pay agreement is final.

“The old policy, known as remote leave allowance, penalized us the more days in the month we worked,” described Andrew Naslund, a Marine Technician 3 working at Scripps for about four-and-a-half years. “If I went to sea Monday through Friday for the entire month and came home on the weekends, I’d be making almost the same amount of money plus or minus $35 a day, as if I went to sea from the first to the thirty-first. I’m essentially working my weekends for free. I’m not getting those days back; they’re just gone. We are not afforded the weekend.”

The new sea-pay policy was a hard-fought victory for Andrew and his colleagues across all seafaring departments. It aims to correct longstanding compensation inequities and significantly broadens the scope of what qualifies for sea pay. But getting that policy formalized into a written agreement has remained a priority.

“Over the last two years, we’ve repeatedly emphasized that we are the union. Many people refer to the union as a separate entity without recognizing that, as members of a public, member-run union, I am the union, you are the union—we all are. We’re collectively responsible for what we define as the union,” Andrew explained. “We’ve proven that when we, the union, come together, we can make things happen.”

Jere Justice, a pharmacist and UPTE unit representative at UCI Health — Fountain Valley, formerly Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, has been a driving force in labor organizing at his workplace. He thrives in the demanding environment of Fountain Valley, working the night shift and leading a team of technicians.

Since UCI Health acquired four medical centers at Fountain Valley, Lakewood, Los Alamitos, and Placentia Linda, along with outpatient care offices, on March 27, 2024, Jere’s leadership has been a beacon of trust for his colleagues.

Joining UPTE has reignited Jere’s passion for union work. He was impressed by UPTE’s structure and effectiveness, describing his initial Zoom meeting with UPTE leaders as a moment that “got me excited again.” He noted, “The union is well-organized, continually growing, and everyone seems to be on the same page, getting stuff done. It’s an impressive union.”

Jere’s leadership and dedication have significantly impacted his colleagues, who trust him to represent their interests. “They’re pretty excited about that and fired up to become active union members,” he says, referring to the anticipated changes under UPTE’s representation.

With our platform ratification vote behind us, I wanted to reflect on the last two years and share a bit about what lies ahead as we prepare for negotiations with UC.

When we look at unions that have recently fought for and won stellar contracts, including the UAW, LA teachers, and workers at Kaiser, we should also consider how they reached their goals. It starts with members stepping up in every workplace and at every campus or medical center so that we can share information quickly, enforce our contract when management misbehaves, and tackle our shared obstacles at work.

Last month, we put that contract platform up for a ratification vote. I was so proud to see nearly 9,500 UPTE members cast a ballot between April 4 - 18, approving these bargaining priorities by over 99%. That turnout represents a majority of all UC workers represented by our union—and we’re not stopping there.

Our first bargaining session with UC will be on June 11, when a team of 26 UPTE members across healthcare, research, and technical titles from every corner of the state will take your feedback and priorities into negotiations. I hope you feel as proud as I do of how far we’ve come together as a union.

Our next convention has officially been scheduled! In 2024, our next convention will take place at the San Diego Mission Bay Resort on September 28 & 29. The delegate nomination process will open on May 21 and close at 11:59 pm on June 5, 2024.

At the convention, elected delegates from workplaces across California take time to democratically determine the direction of our union while also participating in training and education workshops about building our union.

If the same or fewer members accept nomination to serve as convention delegates as allotted to that campus, they shall be considered elected by acclamation. If more than the allotted number of members accept their nomination then an election will be held and the top-ranking candidates will serve as delegates.

All members in good standing are eligible to serve as convention delegates. If you want to be a delegate, you should run for this position with the intention of attending the entirety of the convention. UPTE will pay for hotel rooms, airfare/mileage, and other reasonable travel expenses.

UPTE stands in solidarity with protestors at UC and other universities calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. We condemn UCLA leadership’s failure to protect students, staff, and faculty from violent counter-protestors, none of whom were arrested.

We are deeply disturbed by the UCLA administration’s decision to violently break up peaceful anti-war demonstrations and arrange the arrest of dozens of students. We also condemn the UCSD Chancellor’s similar repression of democratic protest. UC Riverside’s decision to engage students in constructive dialogue and negotiation stands in stark contrast and represents a blueprint for leadership at other campuses.

UPTE Psychologists, Social Workers, and Counselors who provide mental health support to UC students have been overwhelmed with students traumatized by the University’s behavior. We demand that the University respect their students’ right to free speech and peaceful protest, and cease actions—including pursuing disciplinary action against student protestors—that cause further harm.

We remain committed to defending the rights of our members and the entire University community to participate in non-violent protests and exercise their First Amendment rights. We will also continue work with our union, student, and community allies to ensure the University fulfills its obligation to provide a safe place to work, learn, and heal.

The University of California recently completed the purchase of several hospitals, including Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Los Alamitos Medical Center, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Placentia Linda Hospital, Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, and West Hills Hospital and Medical Center—with more in the works.

These acquisitions have brought hundreds of new healthcare members into our union, with more to come, growing our collective strength and power as we prepare for our upcoming negotiations. UPTE has been hard at work to ensure that the rights and working conditions of new and existing members are protected throughout this process.

In a testament to our growing strength and power, we secured strong agreements with UC that will protect both the standards we have fought and won for ourselves as well as the security of our newest members. Looking at what we have been able to accomplish for our newest members, I feel even more confident that the work we’ve done over the last few years to grow our strength as a union is paying off.

As a pharmacist, an UPTE chapter co-chair at UCSF, and our union’s statewide Executive Vice President, I am excited to see this growth in our bargaining units.

I can’t wait to get to know our newest members, and I hope you feel the same way. We’re stronger than ever having them as part of the UPTE family.

In November 2023, UPTE members at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory protested for better working conditions and fair compensation, highlighting the issues of uncompetitive wages and workforce attrition. Marching on the boss, workers delivered a petition to the laboratory’s management demanding market equity raises for high-voltage electricians and seriously addressing recruitment and retention issues, leading to increased stress and exhaustion.

This showcase of collective action marked a significant step towards equitable treatment and improved labor conditions. It also caught management’s attention, as the lab responded by implementing a pilot program and distributing retention bonuses amounting to ten percent of base pay in two installments in acknowledgment of ongoing recruitment and retention issues.

“It’s the beginning of a win. It feels great, like a boiling pot finally releasing some pressure,” said David Tanno, a High Voltage Electrician at the lab. “It’s like being heard after years of inaction and excuses. The fact that they acknowledged the issues and provided a bonus makes it all feel worthwhile. It validates our feelings and reassures us that we’re not just going through the motions every day.”

Derek Edwards, a High Voltage Electrician Lead, echoed David’s sentiments. He described the current changes as “a crack in the longstanding dam” of resistance from management. “It’s a result of the march we did last year,” Derek explained. “Management finally realizes that there are issues at the lab. So we’re definitely heading in a good direction now to where we actually can have movement both ways on the subject.”

Gloria Hernandez is an UPTE Workplace Representative at Venice Family Clinic, a community health center under the UCLA umbrella that serves patients across Los Angeles, where she counsels women affected by domestic violence. She was also an active participant in helping VFC workers win union recognition and is now helping fight for their first contract.

Gloria recalls what led her to participate actively in the fight for union recognition: “I always felt like I was doing more; I was doing the work of a social worker, but I’m compensated less than half of what they’re getting paid. I had already been fighting with my previous boss to reclassify me, but I couldn’t do it alone. It will take a movement, a union, to get what we deserve.”

Gloria recently joined other UPTE members and nearly 5,000 union activists worldwide at the 2024 Labor Notes Conference in Chicago. The conference is an essential gathering for union members who want to strategize and exchange best practices about what has worked. “Going to the Labor Notes Conference was inspiring. When I saw people from all these different unions and how amazing it looks, it gives me a sense that we’re in a huge movement, and it’s just energizing,” Gloria reflected.

Her favorite moment of the event? Watching her daughter Cynthia lead a panel discussion about fighting the boss. Cynthia has followed in her mother’s footsteps and is now working to organize workers at the Amazon KSBD Air Hub in San Bernardino with Inland Empire Amazon Workers United under highly challenging conditions.

UC Davis workers in the technical and healthcare units have been showing us what solidarity in action looks like! Business Technical Support Analysts (BTSAs) at UC Davis Medical Center recently won equity increases ranging from two to twelve percent, while Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) marched on their boss to deliver a petition calling for an equity adjustment of their own.

Josh Buxbaum, a BTSA 3 and an UPTE Workplace Representative, recounted their journey: “It was a challenging process. We started with basic forms for an equity review but had to escalate when we didn’t receive a response. We united with fellow BTSA 3s and drafted a demand letter to our supervisors to reinforce our case,” he shared.

In February, LCSWs at UC Davis Medical Center launched a petition of their own. The petition highlighted how these social workers were paid significantly less than their counterparts at nearby hospitals, leading to high turnover and difficulties filling vacancies. Low retention disrupts care as patients often restart with new clinicians, hindering recovery.

“It was truly inspiring to see the turnout because quite a few people from all different teams showed up,” said Arri Aguilar, an LCSW who has worked at UC Davis for almost four years. “Standing with my colleagues was empowering. It’s about more than just wages; it’s about respecting our role and securing the future of healthcare here at UC Davis. We’re here for the long game.”

April 1 marks the beginning of an exciting week for University of California workers. We kick off our 2024 Contract Platform vote and Bargaining Team elections. The polls will be open from April 4 through April 18.

"Last year, we had thousands of conversations with UPTE members across their state who made their demands loud and clear; we deserve fair pay, clear pathways to career progression, improved work/life balance, better staffing, and job security. Those are the principles that our 2024 Contract Platform is rooted in," said Matthew Stephen, a Physician Assistant at UCSF and UPTE Chapter Co-Chair.

Contract negotiations are about showing strength in numbers, and we want to start bargaining off from a place of strength. That means UC needs to know that an overwhelming majority of our 18,000 members support these priorities. Strong turnout during our ratification vote will help us send a clear message to management that we're serious.

"We have a responsibility to provide world-class patient care, research, and education to Californians in every corner of our state—and our employer has a responsibility to make sure we have the support, resources, and staffing to fulfill that tremendous mission," Matt said. "Swing by with a few of your coworkers to vote together and say 'hello!'"

Behind the academic achievements and vibrant campus life lies an essential yet often hidden workforce in the heart of campuses across the University of California system. Among this group of workers is Andrew Fugman, a Principal Electronics Technician at UC Santa Barbara, whose story showcases determination and the steps to win material improvements to working conditions.

"We worked on flyer materials that went beyond equity issues for us," expressed Andrew. "We emphasized in our messaging how our work directly connects to campus safety, staff safety, and, above all, student safety. We handed out the flyers in high-profile, high-foot-traffic areas across campus, including to prospective students doing their orientations with their parents to get the attention of management."

In response to the demand submitted by the Electronics Techs, the University proposed 3-7% equity increases and adjustments to pay scales that allowed members who had been at the top of their pay scale to receive a January step increase, as well as creating room for additional step increases with the next contract.

As we gear up for bargaining with the University of California, the story of the electronics technicians' fight for fairness is a potent reminder of the strength in unity. "It will be a lot different at the bargaining table when we have eighteen thousand members behind us systemwide instead of just a few electronics techs here at one campus," Andrew reflected.

In contract negotiations, the path to victory is often paved with steadfast organizing and strategic pressure. That was precisely the case for UPTE members at UCLA, who recently celebrated a significant win against UC management: a five percent equity increase for all, plus additional compensation for night and weekend shifts. This achievement wasn't merely handed to us; it was the result of persistent collective action and negotiations.

Jeanna Harris, a dedicated UPTE unit representative and Case Manager at the UCLA Medical Center, shared the behind-the-scenes story of how UPTE members, including social workers and case managers, came together to make their voices heard. Over the past few years, our members have faced the longstanding issue of inadequate differential pay for night and weekend shifts, a critical factor for ensuring sufficient staffing levels at all times.

Jeanna further highlighted that "this victory is a testament to what we can achieve when we stand together, united by our commitment to fairness and equity." She also noted the potential for this success to set a new standard for upcoming contract negotiations, focusing not just on compensation but also on holistic issues like work-life balance and job satisfaction.

As we move forward, this experience has taught us the value of collective action and the power of maintaining a constructive dialogue with management. Our success at UCLA is a beacon for UPTE members across the system, showing that we can achieve substantial wins for all UC workers when we organize, engage, and negotiate in good faith.