UC tried to unilaterally implement parking increases. We fought back—and won.

UC tried to pull a fast one by announcing a parking fee hike earlier this year at several UC locations—UCI, UCLA, UCR, UCB, and UCD. UPTE members forced them to hit the brakes. 

When UPTE members at those campuses received notice that their parking rates were going to be increasing in a few months, we wasted no time in reminding UC that what they were planning was unlawful. We’d been (and are still are) in the status quo period of contract negotiations and they had no grounds to unilaterally impose anything without bargaining with us first. 

So, in preparation for good-faith bargaining over this parking fee increase, we requested financial information from each UC campus as a matter of course. The response? Nearly all campuses pulled a quick u-turn, claiming this was all a mistake—no increases for UPTE or AFSCME members after all. 

However, UC Riverside was still set on full speed ahead. They provided financial documents that confirmed what we already knew to be true—the parking increase wasn’t based on financial need, but was yet another cash grab from the pockets of their own employees. UPTE members geared up for bargaining, determined to fight. When we met with UCR leadership, they quickly came to the conclusion that they, too, were better off executing an about-face, and backed off on implementing the increase.

“These fees are not a minor inconvenience. They’re a pay cut, disguised as ‘parking.’ UC wages haven’t kept up with inflation, yet the university charges us hundreds of dollars a year just to show up and do our jobs. For staff who already struggle with California’s high cost of living, that’s money that could go toward rent, groceries, or childcare.” - Heather Johnson, Staff Therapist, as part of her statement to UCR management against the increases

While we are still working on the last holdout in UC Berkeley, we know we’re on the right track. UC’s greed can seem limitless, but it will never be outmatched by the indomitable force of our union power.