On April 1, twenty thousand UPTE members at every University of California healthcare center, campus, and key laboratories participated in an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike. The strike was in response to UC’s decision to engage in a pattern of illegal behavior including continued attempts to unilaterally and unlawfully increase health insurance costs for some of the most vulnerable union members outside of the bargaining process. UC has also forced newly organized groups of workers into their own separate negotiation process, which has rendered the bargaining process hopelessly impractical and ineffective—a classic “divide-and-conquer” strategy that violates the law. 

“We believe UC’s priority should be the people of California and that they have an obligation to follow the law just like any other employer in our state. When they egregiously trample on our legal rights and protections, it emboldens other wealthy and powerful bullies to do the same to the rest of us—but we’re willing to fight to hold them accountable. It isn’t clear to us why UC has such a hard time respecting the rights of workers. What is clear is that when frontline workers speak out about the staffing crisis, UC is quick to dismiss it—while executives will report the same concerns internally,” said Amy Fletcher, a Staff Research Associate at UC Davis and a member of UPTE’s bargaining team. 

Our statewide strike vote has closed, and today, UPTE is announcing a statewide strike from February 26 to 28, 2025, in response to UC's ongoing unfair labor practices.You can check out our announcement in the Los Angeles Times.

Four times as many UPTE members participated this time compared to our last statewide strike vote in 2018, voting to authorize the strike by 98%. Instead of working together to address the recruitment and retention crisis, UC is attempting to silence workers for speaking out for our patients, research, and students. 

UC has enacted new rules to limit our ability to advocate for ourselves and interfered with our rights by unilaterally forcing individuals to come to work during our November unfair practice strike at UCSF. With public healthcare, research, and education under attack from the federal government, it is more important than ever that we defend our rights to advocate for our professions.

Whether UC attempts to stop us from speaking up for patient care, students, or the public—or continues bargaining in bad faith—it is up to us to take action to hold them accountable. Don't just stay home from work; our patients, research, and students are counting on us.

Step increases were not processed for the first full pay period in January because, after 7 months of bargaining, UC continues to bargain in bad faith and has refused to engage over our bargaining priorities meaningfully.

A statewide strike authorization vote will begin on February 3rd. This vote will ask you to authorize UPTE leadership to call strikes in response to UC's ongoing bad-faith bargaining or other unfair labor practices UC commits, failure to agree to your bargaining priorities, and in solidarity with our AFSCME 3299 siblings who are also fighting for similar demands to protect our patients, research, and students.  

Instead of bargaining in good faith to address your concerns, UC has refused to provide information and has insisted on maintaining illegal restrictions on our ability to advocate for ourselves, our patients, our research, and our students. If UC continues to commit unfair labor practices, we must be ready to hold it accountable statewide. 

The next step in negotiations - mediation - has been scheduled for January 28-29. While we hope that UC will engage in mediation in good faith, UC has shown no inclination to do so at the bargaining table. Neither mediation nor the impasse process ultimately requires UC to make movement in their bargaining proposals - that is ultimately up to our willingness to take collective action. Click here for a brief explanation of the "impasse" process.

2024 was another incredible year for UPTE, capped by thousands of members striking at UCSF on November 20-21. UC can have no doubt about how ready UPTE members are to continue fighting for their patients, research, and students.

Earlier this month, the LA Times ran a powerful story about UPTE researchers at UC Davis, who are fighting back against low wages, high turnover, misclassification and understaffing, all while carrying the burden of trying to stop bird flu from turning into the next pandemic.  We won strong contracts at Mt. San Jacinto College and College of the Sequoias, with significant progress made at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Despite LLNL management taking bargaining more seriously than UC, members are still preparing to strike, if necessary.

Our membership is at a historic high, with more than 2,200 members joining UPTE since last December. Those members are more engaged than ever, which means that we are ready to take on the challenges of 2025 and beyond, whatever those may be.

After our 24th day of bargaining, the University showed no intention to address our priorities nor to take their legal obligations more seriously. 

When we asked the University to explain the claim that they are offering 19-23% raises (when in fact UC has offered just 11% across the board raises) UC's Chief Negotiator said "I didn't do the update, so no, I won't try to."

On December 11, we informed the University that we believe negotiations are no longer productive and that we should begin an 'impasse' process required by the Public Employment Relations Board before we are able to call a strike directly over our bargaining priorities. We can continue to strike in response to the University's Unfair Labor Practices during this time.

Your bargaining team is recommending that UPTE hold a statewide strike vote to authorize UPTE leadership to call a strike in response to unfair labor practices committed by UC. 

Among the ongoing unfair labor practices UC has committed are their unilateral increase to healthcare costs, bad faith bargaining, and unconstitutional restrictions on union speech and activities. 

We knew how the world reacted to a worldwide pandemic with COVID-19. In California alone, nearly one hundred ten thousand have died from the contagious disease since first being detected in late January 2020. We have seen how our loved ones and entire communities were devastated by the pandemic. That is why we need to be on guard for the next time.

Workers at the California Animal Health & Food Safety Lab System (CAHFS) at UC Davis are raising the alarm about severe understaffing and unsafe conditions that jeopardize critical testing for diseases like Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1).

On December 11 at 12 pm, these essential workers who are protecting the health and safety of our communities staged an informational picket at UC Davis. Please click here to send an email in support of them to Dean Stetter.

You may have seen the recent Los Angeles Times article highlighting the working conditions that workers have to endure on a daily basis just to protect all of us. The fight that CAHFS workers are going through is what we mean when talking about resetting UC's priorities to serve ALL Californians.

If UC had any doubts that UPTE members were willing to do whatever it takes to end the University's unfair labor practices and the crisis of recruitment and retention, our strike at UCSF put those to rest.

Through wind and rain, UPTE members at UCSF came out in their biggest numbers ever. Please take a look at the incredible photos and videos on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky to get a sense of what it looked and felt like. You can also take a look at our coverage of our unfair labor practice strike in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco, and ABC News.

In an email to UCSF staff this morning, Chancellor Hawgood and Suresh Gunasekaran, the President and CEO of UCSF Health, acknowledged that "[t]he strike has had an impact on all of us, and its effects will linger in the weeks ahead."

UC now knows how prepared thousands of UPTE members across the state are to strike if they continue their unfair labor practices.

Today, we are announcing that a ULP strike will take place at UCSF on November 20 and 21, 2024. We are limiting this strike to UCSF in order to give UC an opportunity to begin to bargain in good faith.

If they don't - and if they continue their pattern of unlawful behavior—all 20,000 UPTE workers across the state need to be prepared to act to hold UC accountable.

For five months, UC has refused to meaningfully engage with any of our proposals. The University's refusal to bargain in good faith is not just illegal, it insults the commitment that each and every one of you has to your patients, research, and students. I have heard again and again from clinicians who report that short staffing and delayed care could mean permanent health impacts.

If and when the time comes for a strike at your campus, I hope you'll be prepared to stand with thousands of UPTE members across the state.

Thousands of members participated in our strike vote at UCSF, voting yes to strike by 98% and dwarfing turnout from all past UPTE strike votes.

Over 75% of healthcare workers voted to strike, meaning that our power to hold UC accountable will be on full display at UCSF's Medical Centers, labs, and clinics.

A strike at UCSF may be announced at any time. UPTE will provide at least 10 days notice to the University and has already reminded them of their responsibility to plan for this.

Click here to find a strike FAQ.

We are limiting this strike to UCSF in order to give UC an opportunity to begin to bargain in good faith. If UC continues to commit illegal, unfair labor practices, all of us must be prepared for a statewide strike vote.

Have all of your colleagues pledged to strike already? Please ask to make sure they have today!

We are now in our 5th month of negotiations and our contracts expire in less than 2 weeks. Yet the University has not ended its unfair practices, made significant movement on our priorities, nor even provided a complete contract proposal. 

UC has not provided any pay proposal at all for Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) and has not responded to proposals that UPTE made more than 2 months ago, such as Shift Differentials and Subcontracting.

At bargaining yesterday at UC Santa Cruz, UPTE members once again packed the room to share stories of how poor compensation, misclassification, lack of career progression and more are impacting our students and our research. We were also joined by State Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin who called on the University to address the affordability crisis, and by State Senator John Laird who pledged his support if a strike becomes necessary. 

Our rally was covered by KSBW Action News 8, local NPR affiliate KAZU 90.3, and Lookout Santa Cruz.

On Friday, October 11, UPTE filed an unfair labor practice charge in response to UC’s bad faith bargaining and illegal plan to implement unlimited healthcare cost increases while we are bargaining. UC currently pays 76-95% of monthly healthcare premiums on Kaiser & UC Blue & Gold plans, thanks to the $25 annual limit we won in our last contract.

After significant increases in 2024, this saved up to $224/month compared to non-union employees. By proposing to remove the cap, UC wants the ability to shift up to $2,451.37 per month in costs to us - numbers that are likely to increase dramatically in 2025 and beyond.

What UC is proposing in bargaining:

• No limit on healthcare premium increases

• $100 subsidy for Pay Band 1, $75 subsidy for Pay Band 2 (after their increases)

Some of what UC is planning to implement outside of bargaining in 2025:

• 9% increase in cost on pay bands 1 and 2 (those making less than $140,000)

• 11% increase in cost on pay bands 3 and 4 (those making more than $140,000)

• CORE PPO no longer no-cost (premium cost not announced)

For months, we have been met with UC's bad faith at the bargaining table, and unfair labor practices by the University even longer.

UC is sitting on billions in reserves due to vacancies but fails to provide us with information we need - and are legally entitled to - about staffing, vacancies, or how much they are saving while our patients, research, and students suffer the effects of short staffing.

Adding insult to the University's predictably unacceptable proposals at bargaining, UC just announced massive increases to employee healthcare costs. They plan to increase premiums by 9-11%, eliminate the one no-cost insurance plan, raise co-pays from $20 to $30 per outpatient visit, and shift 30% of specialty drug prices to employees. UC never even proposed these changes to UPTE – it is just making the changes unilaterally.

UC has the ability to avoid a strike action by changing their behavior, which we sincerely hope that they do before a strike is called. Click here to pledge to strike and vote YES on the first day!

At last week's bargaining session, UC proposed to remove the current $25 cap on annual healthcare premium increases on Kaiser and Blue & Gold Plans in exchange for a $100 and $75 subsidy for those in Pay Bands 1 and 2, respectively.

Days before, UC revealed that they are planning 9-11% premium increases for 2025, alongside increases in co-pays and a new 30% coinsurance fee for specialty drugs of up to $150/prescription.

This subsidy might provide a benefit to those in pay bands 1 and 2 in 2025 but would increase rates by up to $126/month for those on pay bands 3 and 4 and allow UC to shift an unlimited amount of their cost onto everyone in subsequent years. 

With just a month before our contracts expire, UC is not only trying to keep our pay below inflation, they are trying to give themselves a free hand to push us even further and further behind each year by offsetting healthcare premium costs on us.

There is no question that UC’s healthcare proposal would deepen the recruitment and retention crisis. Sign a strike pledge now to let UC know you are ready to stand with nearly 7,000 other UPTE members who have already pledged to strike.

We are now just a month away from our the expiration of our contracts. Instead of taking our concerns, our testimony, or our demands seriously, UC continues bargaining in bad faith and commits other unfair practices outside of bargaining.

One of UC's most egregious unfair labor practices is their failure to bargain in good faith over our demands that impact staffing levels. On April 12, 2023, we requested information that would help us better understand the depths of the recruitment and retention crisis, such as the number of vacant positions in UPTE job titles across the state. 18 months later, we have yet to receive any of this information.

Why is UC withholding this data? Do they not want the public to know how many budgeted healthcare providers, researchers, and technical positions are being left empty while patient care, research, and students suffer?

Enough is enough. After 4 months of bargaining, we are now just a month away from our contracts being expired. Instead of listening to your demands, concerns, and testimony, UC continues bargaining in bad faith and commits other unfair practices outside of bargaining.

As we prepare to capitalize on our collective strength in the workplace, and to leverage that power for a new contract, we must also endeavor to “organize” and mobilize our communities to apply maximum pressure on UC. 

This year, our union is beginning to identify and endorse “UPTE Champions” to represent our interests and fight for our members in public offices across the state. The candidates who earned our endorsement demonstrated a commitment to our values, articulated a vision of working collaboratively to hold UC accountable, and have pledged to utilize their office to pursue bold legislative solutions to support working families and union households. 

For a complete listing of UPTE’s endorsed candidates, please visit upte.org/endorsements to view information on the candidates and to learn about how we can mobilize our union to engage in the civic process. 

“For too long UC has operated under the perception of impunity, investing significant resources to lobby the State Legislature for their own means. It’s time that we change this dynamic, and elect champions that have the conviction to fight for our members, to push back against UC, and to codify transformational policies that support our work and enhance our lives,” said Amy Fletcher, a Staff Research Associate 4 at UC Davis who is also UPTE’s Chapter Chair and statewide Treasurer. “It’s time for us to ‘organize’ local and state governments to support our workers, our students, and our communities and reset UCs priorities.”

College of the Sequoias Adjunct Faculty Association/University Professional and Technical Employees (COSAFA/UPTE) members ratified a new contract. In September, COSAFA/UPTE’s bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the administration and the Board of Trustees at College of the Sequoias. Now, it goes to the Board of Trustees for a final vote.

“We are thrilled to announce a significant victory—our collective power, including each and every part-time faculty member, has led to ratifying a new contract with the administration and the Board of Trustees at College of the Sequoias,” expressed Danielle Alberti, president of College of the Sequoias Adjunct Faculty Association/UPTE, Sam Brookshire, vice president of the COSAFA/UPTE chapter, and Charles Slaght, the COSAFA/UPTE chapter’s secretary-treasurer. “That success is a testament to our unity and determination in fighting for fair pay, better working conditions, and improved job security, all of which are key achievements of our new contract.”

The new contract includes several substantial financial and non-financial improvements for part-time faculty. Among the financial gains are a 2.07 percent hourly rate increase retroactive to August 1 and the addition of longevity steps at 10, 15, and 20 years of service.

"Remember, it’s our collective strength that helped us achieve our new contract,” continued Danielle. “Together, we can continue building a stronger, more inclusive union that represents the goals and priorities of every COSAFA/UPTE member at College of the Sequoias.”

Our current contract negotiations center on a theme of "Resetting UC's Priorities." While pleading poverty at the bargaining table with us, the UC Regents have awarded huge raises to top executives and approved the purchase of additional ammunition and military equipment.

At the same time, they're pursuing proposals in our negotiations that would dramatically restrict the rights of our members to advocate for improved working conditions and outlaw our ability to gather and protest in front of or near our workplaces.

Regarding the free speech restrictions, UC has used the recent Palestine protests and a legislative request for a report on its speech policies as a "Trojan horse" of sorts to push through radical and unprecedented limitations on speech without proper bargaining—a clear violation of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA).

"These proposed restrictions are not just alarming because of their clear illegality, but because they demonstrate just how out of touch the administration is from the challenges frontline workers face every day in serving our patients and students or advancing our research," said Matias Campos, a Pharmacist at UCSF and UPTE's systemwide Executive Vice President. 

“It’s disappointing that UC and LBNL are focused on curtailing our fundamental rights to free speech and collective action rather than investing in the people responsible for the important work we do both at the Berkeley Lab and across the University of California system as a whole,” said Eduardo de Ugarte, a Graphic Designer and UPTE’s Chapter Chair at LBNL. 

UPTE's bargaining team was back at the table with the University of California on September 10 and 11 at UC Santa Barbara. UC continues to reject UPTE's proposals regarding pay, reclassification, work-life balance, staffing, and job security.

"College counseling today isn't about choosing a career or adjusting to being away from home. It's about keeping students alive and helping them get an education for a better future. It makes me wonder what UC is prioritizing if not student wellbeing and education," said Dr. Lily Clark, Counseling Psychologist.

When questioned, management's bargaining team has offered little or no explanation for rejecting proposals - even those that would cost the University little to nothing, such as improved rights to vacant positions or additional unpaid leave.

Fortunately, we know that UC has the resources to correct all of these issues. Our strikes in 2018/2019 and those by UAW academic workers in 2022 show that UC can be convinced to make the changes that we deserve. Join thousands of your colleagues and sign a strike commitment card today at upte.org/strike.

During August, UPTE members at every UC campus and medical center across the state hosted mass meetings to share bargaining updates and talk about the importance of getting strike-ready. In a powerful display of our solidarity, thousands of healthcare, research, and technical workers came out to participate and sign their strike commitment pledges.

UC can’t pretend that they don’t know or understand our issues. At every bargaining session, members have shown up in force to pack the room in support of our demands. 

We’ve shared first-hand testimony in support of our demands—the researcher who schedules their lunch around when the food bank truck is close to their worksite because they can’t afford to survive on what UC is paying them, the campus mental health clinician who worries about having enough staff to work with students struggling with stress or even suicidality, and more.

We have the power together to win this contract, but we won’t win it just because your bargaining team members are arguing at the table. We have to win it through collective action. If you haven’t already, sign your strike commitment pledge today at upte.org/strike.

The inpatient rehab therapists at UCSF Parnassus have secured a significant victory regarding their weekend work schedules. Previously required to work two weekend days every five weeks, these dedicated healthcare workers will now only need to work one weekend day per month. The change follows a coordinated effort by the therapists, who highlighted the impact of the demanding schedule on their work-life balance through strategic data collection and engagement with management.
“We realized that after thinking about the actual problem, it was more like we’re not doing our best at this moment to make the most of our resources,” explained Amanda Chow, a Physical Therapist 3 of almost five years at UCSF Health. “Ultimately, if we don’t have a proper schedule, then, at the end of the day, that impacts patient care."

After a march on the boss last year, during which UCSF healthcare workers demanded a substantive change to the weekend schedule policy, UPTE members once again escalated the issue with management. Their latest example of collective action involved them presenting their findings as a united front, detailing data points showing better patient outcomes, preventing severe burnout, and higher morale within the department.

After the joint effort by the inpatient rehab therapists, management acquiesced to the workers’ demands and changed the weekend schedule policy. The new schedule for inpatient rehab therapists is set to take effect in October, marking a significant step forward for UCSF healthcare professionals who must balance the demands of their critical work with their personal lives.