The UPTE Update: University tech workers make history; UCSF fined $272K
Welcome to The UPTE Update, a monthly newsletter from University Professional and Technical Employees.
UC tech workers join UPTE in historic union election
2,100 IT workers across the UC system have voted overwhelmingly to unionize with UPTE, making our 8,400-worker technical employees bargaining unit the largest-ever tech workers union in the United States.
The newly represented job titles include Application Programmers, Business Systems Analysts, Data Systems Analysts, Database Administrators, Information Systems Analysts, and Instructional Designers.
“I joined the movement to unionize with UPTE to ensure that other IT workers and I have adequate staffing, resources, and the benefits we need to keep UC a leader in research and open science,” said Jane Yonehira, a Data Analyst at UC’s Digital Library.
Why it matters: The successful campaign comes at a pivotal moment as the broader tech industry grapples with mass layoffs and rapid adoption of AI without input from the workers who are experts in these new technologies.
Now, our newest members will have a voice at the decision-making table to help inform UC’s implementation of AI in the workplace, strengthen job security, and ensure accountability to the millions of Californians who depend on UC for cutting edge research, healthcare, and education—garnering coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, Daily Bruin, Berkeleyside, and the tech newsletter Blood in the Machine. Our UC Los Angeles Chapter co-chair published an op-ed in Tech Policy Press titled “We Just Formed the Largest Tech Union in America. Here's How We Did It.”
UCSF social workers unite for workplace safety, quality care
For years, we’ve been sounding the alarm about UCSF’s approach to care: under-resourced, underpaid, and overworked. Urgency around our demands for safety and pay parity reignited at the end of last year when our colleague, fellow union member, and friend, Alberto Rangel, was fatally stabbed on the job at UCSF's HIV clinic.
Rangel’s death could’ve been avoided—and UPTE members have been leading the charge to protect workers from similar acts of violence in the future.
What we’re organizing for: We’re holding UCSF’s feet to the fire to secure safety improvements, staffing minimums and caseload limits, protections and support for survivors of workplace violence, and pay parity with social workers at UCSF hospitals.
The inequities are stark. UCSF campus social workers support underserved populations in high-risk settings and earn about $93,000 starting out. Their counterparts with identical qualifications at UCSF hospitals can earn about 29% more, with some starting salaries exceeding $120,000.
The impact: “We’re constantly trying to bring new people up to speed as we’re losing experienced clinicians, which disrupts continuity of care. These conditions increase the risk for staff and patients,” Juliette Suarez, a clinical social worker at UCSF’s Trauma Recovery Center and UPTE chapter co-chair, wrote in an op-ed published by the San Francisco Chronicle.
We’re increasing the pressure on UCSF to take action:
An audit from San Francisco’s Department of Public Health (DPH) that reinforces our demands
A $130,500 Cal/OSHA fine for SF General Hospital and a $142,000 fine for UCSF due to inadequate workplace violence prevention plans.
Stated commitments from the DPH director, Daniel Tsai, to implement UPTE members’ feedback for stronger safety precautions and protocols.
Athletic trainers at UCSB took action to improve work-life balance… here’s what they’ve won so far
Chronic weekend work, 50- to 60-hour workweeks, and frequent travel were burning out UC Santa Barbara’s athletic trainers. The lack of work/life balance was driving down morale and pushing workers to look for other jobs. Instead of caving in, they organized.
A supermajority of UPTE members in the department stood together to alleviate the strain of high workloads by securing more staff and better compensation.
The process: The athletic trainers formed an organizing committee, signed and delivered a petition, and met with key decision-makers in management to raise their concerns.
Outcomes: Department leadership hired 2 per diem staff and increased the per diem rate from $30 to $55, ensured all staff are taking time off from work every week (even during seasonal peaks), and committed to continuing the conversation about hiring more full-time staff.
Bonus: Management secured a temporary stipend for one of the lead athletic trainers to be compensated for taking on extra duties!
"Organizing with my co-workers was important to me because it gave athletic trainers a collective voice in supporting both our profession and the student athletes we care for,” said Jackson O’Neil, an Athletic Trainer 3 at UC Santa Barbara. “We’re better positioned to provide the high-quality care and services that help student athletes succeed... The fight continues.”
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