On May 2, over 30 UCSF physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists delivered a petition to Maurine Coco, Director of Rehabilitation Services, demanding weekend pay differentials, adequate staffing, and pay equity.

"In May, our rehab team at UCSF came together as a group to write and present a letter to management requesting action to address low staffing, weekend and holiday differentials, internal equity reviews, and optimal scheduling practices. We had approximately 30 staff members come together in solidarity to present the letter. We are awaiting collaboration from management to put into action the change we want to see," said Giselle Kurywchak, a senior physical therapist in Parnassus Inpatient Rehabilitative Services.

Management has already responded to some of the workers' concerns by raising the wage scales for some occupational therapist and speech-language pathologist job classifications, which were underpaid compared to physical therapists and the more senior classifications within their professions. Rehab therapists will be meeting with their management in mid-July to insist on pay equity for all classifications in the department, as well as weekend pay differentials to address staffing shortages.

On June 13, UPTE members were proud to once again join striking members of the Writers Guild of America on their picket line to show our solidarity. 

"Striking is a major source of our power. It's the cornerstone of the old labor saying that, ‘the boss needs us, not the other way around.’ It's a recognition of the principle that without workers, no workplace can function—including corporations, universities, hospitals, and television and film production companies," said Carole Netter, UPTE Treasurer and member from UCLA.

Carole continued, saying, "I probably don't need to comment on the insane corporate pay packages of these studio executives. UPTE applauds WGA's innovative efforts to oppose executive compensation plans while contract bargaining is happening. At UC, we know something about out of whack compensation packages. One of our very own chancellors just got a $500,000 raise in April, all the while studies have shown over 20% of students are skipping meals and going hungry."

It shouldn't be a surprise that the top results in our Contract Priorities Campaign were higher wages, more time off, and improved career development.

Inflation has been hitting us hard for 2 years, on top of housing prices and rents that have spiraled out of control. Too many of us lack clear pathways to higher-paying titles, have reached the top step too early in our career, or have only non-union titles to move into. This forces us to choose between career advancement and guaranteed raises, job security, and even retirement benefits.

On top of this, too many of our departments are short-staffed, making it hard to take much-needed vacations and other time-off. For exempt/salaried workers, short-staffing often leads to working well above 40 hours a week with no additional compensation. Even for those of us who "only" work 40 hours, increased workload and pressure to work non-stop through breaks or lunches takes its toll, especially after the pressures of the COVID pandemic.

As UC continues to drag its feet at the bargaining table, behavioral health clinicians have begun discussions with lawmakers about our employer's anti-union behavior. Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents the eastern Assembly district in San Francisco and sits on committees including Labor and Employment, as well as Public Employment and Retirement, sent a letter in support of UPTE behavioral health clinicians to President Drake, UC Chancellors, and CEOs after meeting with us.

"The growing mental health and addiction crisis in our state affects all of us, including students at the University of California. UC behavioral health counselors and psychiatric professionals serve students seeking support for conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance misuse, trauma, stress, and even suicidality. These conditions can unexpectedly impact anyone at any time, and the pressures of higher education can exacerbate them," Assemblymember Haney said in his letter, also highlighting UC's failure to respond to our information requests, which we believe constitutes an unfair labor practice.

On Wednesday, May 24, case managers from UC Davis braved the heat in an effort to reach out to patients and community members about their growing concerns for patient safety amidst the hospital's case manager staffing crisis. UC Davis case managers signed up for lunch shifts to distribute flyers and speak with patients and family members outside the hospital to educate them about the potential dangers of not having enough case managers.

Case managers asked the community to take action by calling Christine Williams, Interim Chief Nursing and Patient Officer, and urging her to prioritize the recruitment and retention of case managers to care for our patients. Workers are also pointing out a glaring inequity in the department—case managers at UCD are paid below those at other regional hospitals, but social workers on the case management team are paid even less despite having the same responsibilities as RN case managers.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are both important healthcare professionals who play crucial roles on the healthcare team. Due to the similarity between these roles, it is common for their compensation to be structured in the same ways. In May 2019, UCI and UPTE agreed that UCI would establish a new step structure for PAs and Senior PAs that would make sure their wage scale stayed consistent with Nurse Practitioners. After much perseverance and efforts by UPTE members, PAs at UC Irvine are now set to receive an 8% increase to their pay structure, effective July 1 of this year.

"This is about equal pay for equal work. Nurse practitioners have had a much higher pay scale than our physician assistants, although we do the same things and have the same job descriptions. UC has an obligation to provide quality care to its patients, but they can't do that without treating every member of the care team fairly and making sure people want to work here and stay here," said Janette Villalon, a PA at UC Irvine and an UPTE steward. "This recognition of our value will demonstrate to future and current PAs that we are valued, respected, and appreciated and at the end of the day, being able to staff up and retain our workforce is a victory for our patients."

Congratulations and welcome to the 50 newest UCLA healthcare workers who joined UPTE in March. These members provide case management, counseling services, patient care advocacy, substance use navigation, and other medical and behavioral health services to patients at the Venice Family Clinic.

"We overcame hurdles for all of us to come together, staying strong and organizing in the hope of being part of a union—to be a part of UPTE. After a hard battle, we were able to unite our coworkers in the fight and gain the upper hand with UC," said Rose Dominguez, who works at the Venice Family Clinic and helped lead the effort to join UPTE. "We eagerly look forward to sitting down at the bargaining table soon to discuss ways we can make Venice Family Clinic a better place to work. We deserve fair wages, and our patients deserve nothing less than quality care."

From May 3 - 17, UPTE members cast their ballots to select which of our coworkers will represent our interests at the upcoming UPTE Convention in Oakland on June 10 and 11. You can click here to see the full results of the election, as well as a certified copy of the results from our independent election vendor.

Thank you to everyone who cast a ballot to make their voices heard in this important election. UPTE is proud to be a member-led union; at convention, our delegates will participate in a series of training workshops and also take time to democratically determine the direction of our union over the next year.

The election for the University of California Retirement System (UCRS) Advisory Board is upon us. The Advisory Board provides UC with strategic, non-binding input on pension matters. Strong worker representation on the board plays a critical role for raising our concerns and accessing the information we need to protect what we've earned to secure our future.

Ruth Zolayvar, AFSCME 3299 and current UCRS Advisory Board member, and David Yamada, Chief Nurse Representative for the California Nurses Association, are the only candidates endorsed by UC unions. We need both of them on the Advisory Board so that strong worker voices are at the table with UC. 

From May 3 - 17, UPTE members cast their ballots to select which of our coworkers will represent our interests at the upcoming UPTE Convention, as well as the CWA Convention (CWA is the national union that UPTE is affiliated with).

We’re pleased to announce the delegates that members across the state selected to represent them at UPTE’s convention on June 10-11 in Oakland, listed by workplace below.

Click here to see the full results of the delegate elections.

During bargaining on March 16th, we asked UC why they are proposing pay scales that would leave dozens of SysAdmins above the top step and ineligible for a number of future raises. UC could not even confirm whether their proposed pay scales were accurate. This is entirely unacceptable.

Disappointingly, UC has been either unwilling or unable to provide any meaningful response to our questions about what their proposals are based on, and neither option is reassuring.

Keep reading to see a brief explanation of where we stand currently.

"Over the last 3 months, more members have participated in our UC Contract Priorities program than our entire last round of contract negotiations. Still, we have much work to do to build our capacity to engage with everyone we represent before we begin negotiations next year.

Now, we'll be reaching out to the respected colleagues identified by our coworkers to ask them to step up and join our Unit and Workplace Representative Councils. We'll also be reviewing the Contract Priorities Forms and developing our Bargaining Survey in consultation with our Unit and Workplace Reps.

Employee misclassification takes many forms—management may ask you to perform duties outside the scope of your job description, or could have groups of people working in outdated job titles that don’t adequately reflect their contributions. UPTE has been fighting for proper reclassification when members aren’t being adequately compensated for their work—and we’ve been winning.

15 IT staff at UC Berkeley recently fought for and won reclassifications and salary increases that were long overdue. Most people won between 8% and 18% raises retroactive about a year and a half. When the Department proposed using 5 temporary contractors to do the work of the regular UPTE staff, our union organized around a counter proposal that included demanding reclassifications and quicker hiring of open positions.

The Physician Assistants (PAs) at UC Davis recently won a 6% equity increase that also brings them closer to pay parity with Nurse Practitioners (NPs). The shift rates were adjusted to further increase pay parity with the NPs. Call pay was also increased from $12 - $15, making it the highest call pay at UCD for the healthcare professionals unit.

"This is only the beginning! Smiley, the workplace rep, and I are looking forward to the year ahead to attain more equality with our nurse practitioner partners and a step system that will allow for job advancement for our profession at UC Davis and Statewide," said John Ancona, a PA and unit rep at UC Davis.

UPTE members at Mt. San Jacinto Community College are heading into bargaining, and have been calling the college out on their misguided priorities and unfair proposals. These associate faculty members  have expertise in a broad range of fields. They work hard to ensure students from all walks of life, spanning from San Gorgonio Pass to Temecula, meet their academic goals, whether that be transferring to another institution, fulfilling continuing education requirements, enrolling in vocational or technical training, learning new languages, and so much more.

"We teach a majority of the college's classes. We work tirelessly to support student success, including donating thousands of hours a year in unpaid office hours. There would be no college without us. Meanwhile, management has taken on over one hundred million in new construction costs, including a $41-million-dollar athletics complex—all while crying poverty at the bargaining table with the people who keep MSJC running. Our students and associate faculty deserve so much better," said Michael Jones, who teaches in the Digital Media Department at MSJC.

On April 26, hundreds of UC workers and students came together for a powerful town hall hosted by UPTE to discuss the growing mental health crisis on our campuses (you can watch a recording here). We heard from students, UC mental health clinicians, and others who shared powerful stories about the need to expand mental health services, invest in clinicians, and expand transparency around mental health outcomes.

"I'm concerned with the lack of support and investment we receive from UC, which leads to burnout, turnover, and risks to our students' safety. The position in my department that typically sees the most students for therapy has had so much turnover it's hard to keep track of," said Angie Bryan, a behavioral health clinician at UC Santa Barbara.

Case managers are Registered Nurses who manage the discharge of patients and their ongoing treatment plans after leaving the hospital. Yet across the state, UC case managers are increasingly dealing with short staffing, high patient loads, burnout, and turnover as they are forced to do more with less.

Last year, UCSD management took away Case Managers' work spaces, leaving many without a desk and some forced to work in common areas that are disruptive. This leads to delays in patient discharges, a heightened risk of HIPAA violations, and potentially serious mistakes in ongoing treatment plans.

“More than a year before we begin our next contract negotiations, UPTE is more prepared than it has ever been thanks to the hard work of hundreds of Unit and Workplace Representatives.

Thousands of you have already participated in hundreds of contract priority meetings, big and small, over the past 2 months. These are the first step toward a strong, collective understanding of what we want to improve and what it will take to win for all 18,000 of us…”

"Patient care relies on quick and accurate clinical lab results which come from CLS who are scheduled on all shifts, 7 days a week, including all holidays. Our CLS leaders helped to conduct a weekend differential survey that had over 150 participants. This survey, along with data from similar markets helped to push UC to up their original offer of $2.50/hr," said Doug Chin, a Clinical Lac Scientist at UCSF.

"Our wide network of over a dozen CLS leaders across 6 major clinical lab sites played a major part in this victory.”

Student mental health and well-being is an urgent issue. The University of California Office of the President states that, “the status quo is a barrier to mental wellness in California.” So, why is UC is allowing a growing mental health crisis to proliferate on campuses?

Despite repeated calls from Clinicians, UC refuses to take adequate steps to recruit and retain the Behavioral Health Psychiatric Professionals (BHPPs) and Behavioral Health Counselors (BHCs) who support UC students and patients in their most vulnerable moments.