In June of 2023, healthcare workers at Venice Family Clinic (VFC) joined our union. Ever since, they have been getting organized and ready to fight for a fair contract and to stop harmful service cuts. The clinic, which serves communities across the west side of Los Angeles, is an affiliate of UCLA Health and UPTE members employed there are on UCLA's payroll.

With negotiations underway, UPTE members at VFC recently held a rally outside of the clinic's Rose Ave location in Venice demanding quality patient care, fair pay, and no cuts to service. We were joined by community allies POWER (People Organized for Westside Renewal) as well as Teamsters Local 2010, who also represents workers at VFC. 

"We provide high-quality, accessible, and comprehensive services to vulnerable or underserved people. We help tens of thousands of our patients access health care, health insurance enrollment assistance, harm reduction, services, case management, counseling and food pantries. But we are juggling more work than we can handle and struggling to make ends meet. Our patients feel the pinch at the end of the day. VFC's own website states that they are experiencing a year of growth and expanding programs. It's our work that is driving that success—why doesn't management think we should get what we deserve?" said Gloria Hernandez, who works at VFC as a social work associate and domestic violence counselor, as well as lead bargainer for UPTE.

UPTE members from the Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (EACL) and BioTech Laboratory at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS) marched on management, demanding transparency and a follow-up on their petition for staff research associates and laboratory assistants requiring equity reviews, more cross-training opportunities, and improved career development and staffing.

"A significant problem is the high turnover we've been having in our lab," said Téa Schepper, a Staff Research Associate 1 in the CAHFS Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory. "Much of the turnover is due to people finding better job offers with higher pay. We had someone who worked here for three months, but then she got a higher-paying job and just left. Many of the people I worked with when I first came here actually are no longer working here anymore."

The march on the boss forced management at CAHFS to commit to an equity review—not just for the two laboratories but for the entire laboratory system. UPTE members will hold a strategy meeting this month to plan the next steps in winning their demands.

CC Gerlach's journey at the UC San Diego Eating Disorders Center, initially filled with learning and growth, took a dramatic turn as systemic issues became apparent. "We were getting burnt out. This can't be normal," she remarked. The pivotal moment came with the revelation that their titles would be frozen, denying them deserved compensation for professional advancements. The unfairness galvanized CC and her colleagues into action, leading them to organize a march to confront their management.

The march represented a critical juncture in their struggle. CC and her colleagues embarked on a daunting task: drafting a petition, a first for many of them. "We had no prior experience," CC admitted, but the necessity of their cause pushed them forward. Inspired by other university movements, they crafted a petition that would become the cornerstone of their action.

The march led to management's promise of a town hall meeting. CC emphasized the importance of persistence: "We at least get that town hall meeting." This sentiment underscored the ongoing need for advocacy and follow-up to ensure their demands were met. Reflecting on the march, CC felt a surge of empowerment. "It truly felt empowering to be the ones to be leading the change," CC stated.

November 29 marked a turning point in the efforts of UPTE Mt. San Jacinto College Associate Faculty, as fifty members staged a call-in campaign to the college's Board of Trustees. Members are fighting for adequate healthcare coverage, pay parity with full-time instructors, seniority-based rights, sufficient raises, longevity increases, and paid time for office hours. The members targeted the Board of Trustees, which governs the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District. 

On the evening of November 29, associate faculty members and allies, including classified staff, full-time faculty, and students, came together to make their voices heard. The strategy was simple yet powerful: to flood the Board's voicemail with a deluge of calls, each echoing our solid and united demands.

"The hope is that some of these new board members will know what's happening at the college and help facilitate our demands," conveyed Marina. "So that's why the outreach was important: to let the new members know what's going on and to garner support. It's important that we show up in numbers because the school will respond to the numbers. I mean, if we show that we are going to be vocal and we have mobilized and we have support, then they will respond."

On December 27, 2023, UPTE's Executive Board voted to make a $10,000 contribution to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to support their humanitarian aid work on the ground in Gaza. The Executive Board also issued the following statement affirming UPTE's long-standing commitment to equality, justice, and peace:

As a union of nearly 20,000 healthcare workers, researchers in the public interest, and workers dedicated to public education, we mourn the tragic loss of nearly as many Palestinian and Israeli lives in the past 3 months. We are horrified by the October 7 attack on Israeli civilians and the ongoing siege, bombing, forced evacuation and destruction of hospitals and schools, and the resulting dire shortage of medical supplies, food, and water in Gaza.

For these reasons, we join the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations, and dozens of American unions calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages. 

Furthermore, we call on our elected officials to cease funding of this conflict and instead to use our government's immense influence to end the blockade of Gaza and to insist that all Palestinians and Israelis are granted equal access to healthcare, education, freedom of movement, and democratic rights.

Misclassification of employees can manifest itself in various ways. Sometimes, UC management might request that employees carry out tasks that fall outside their official job roles, or there could be instances where members work under antiquated job titles that fail to represent their efforts accurately. Misclassifying job titles and the scope of duty affects members' fair representation of their work and appropriate compensation. UPTE has been actively advocating for the reclassification of such positions and fighting for better wages to address these concerns.

The crucial need for accurate job classification and compensation led the affected workers to speak up for improved pay. After some back-and-forth discussions with management, it was recognized that these researchers needed to be reclassified into higher-paying titles to reflect the scope of their responsibilities, which ultimately led to a twelve percent raise for members at UCNRS.

While members are celebrating the increase in pay, there is still work to be done on this front. Members have expressed concern that the title classification and scope of duty still need to be revised. UPTE members remain committed to fighting for proper job classifications and an accurate scope of duty that appropriately reflects their vital work for the UC Natural Reserve System.

Thanks to the efforts of UC pharmacists, people working in the previously nonunion Pharmacist 5 title will now be joining our union! This will give these workers greater power to leverage their unity and collective voice to address workplace concerns and ensure fair and equitable treatment—not to mention a stronger voice to advocate for their services and patients.

Wan-Ting Huang, who recently transitioned from a staff pharmacist role at UCSD to a new position in the cardiovascular ICU as a critical care pharmacist specialist, knows first-hand why this is important.

"I knew our department going to ramp up the specialist position and take people out of the union. So I started to gather more people, asking people to come into meetings and take an active role in our organizing. We heard a lot of stories from coworkers, and realized how much of our members' work was being moved to people in non-union titles. Those people in non-union titles were seeing their benefits impacted or were experiencing trouble getting help with workplace issues. It wasn't right, and we all felt fired up at that point," said Wan-Ting.

By bringing folks into our union who share the same kinds of titles and work that we do, we expand the pool of people that management must collectively negotiate with. That ultimately gives us greater strength through increased numbers. "I'm very excited to get back to the group and now we can do some great work and then for the big contract to come next year," Wan-Ting said.

On November 14, UPTE members rallied against the closure of pharmacy and drug counseling services at the Colen Health Center. The center is operated by Venice Family Clinic and staffed by UCLA Health employees. UPTE was joined by People Organizing for Westside Renewal (POWER), Pastor Smart of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, and former LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin.

The Colen Health Center pharmacy serves a diverse and vulnerable patient population including seniors and parents with young kids, many of whom cannot take multiple buses out of the neighborhood to the next closest pharmacy.

"Some of our patients are undocumented, and many are underinsured or uninsured altogether. This closure means some patients will likely go without any medication. That could cause serious health issues and even death. This is completely unacceptable," said Jeanice Carlson, a pharmacist who has worked at Colen Health Center since 2019.

Kayla Pang, another pharmacist at Colen, agreed: "This is so heart-breaking, because this planned closure goes directly against our mission and values as a clinic. Having access to high-quality pharmacy and drug counseling services in your own neighborhood is something everyone deserves. Shuttering those services here will cause undue hardship for my patients, many of whom are already struggling."

David Tanono, an Electrician 1 in the high voltage group for over eight years, is crucial in maintaining the lab's power infrastructure. Despite their vital work for the federally-funded research and development center, David and his coworkers faced significant hurdles, leading to a diminishing workforce and hiring less qualified individuals. The obstructions at work affected the members' morale and compromised their ability to maintain operational standards.

"We've had meetings with the higher-up executives, right up to the director, Kimberly S. Budil," expressed David. "I invited her to our building and expressed to her the problem we're having attracting new talent and retention, and nothing seemed to have helped. We have had a big problem as far as us getting the money that we need to find and keep qualified high voltage electricians."

Recognizing that individual efforts were insufficient to address these issues, David and his colleagues turned to collective action. He emphasized, "The main thing is just sticking together as a group." That belief in the power of unity was the driving force behind the march on the lab's management, a demonstration of their solidarity and determination to advocate for fair compensation. "Everyone showed up and had the mindset of, 'This could be the beginning of increased wages where if the high voltage group gets a win, we could potentially have other wins for other crafts fighting the same fight.' Whatever happens, it's a good show of support and just kind of overall a positive vibe going as we're marching."

The election committee certifies that the ballot tally was fairly and accurately conducted, the secrecy of the ballots was maintained, and that the election results are as indicated below:

• President:

  • Dan Russell (Elected)

  • Elizabeth Milos

• Chapter Chair, UC Irvine:

  • Stephen Lee (Elected)

  • Jonathan Elder

• Executive Board Member, UC Irvine:

  • Sarah Pinka Majchrowski (Elected)

  • Enrique Trinidad

• Chapter Chair, Lawrence Livermore National Lab:

  • Matthew Epperley (Elected)

  • Jason D. Murray

• Executive Board Members, UC Davis:

  • Eugene Burbige (Elected)

  • Jamie McDole (Elected)

  • Jacob Bernhardt

Number of ballots received and counted: 1050

Absent a challenge to the election, the tentative result shall become final after 10 days from the date of tentative certification. Keep reading to learn more.

Despite the union-busting tactics by the University of California around UPTE accretion campaigns, job stability and a robust union contract steered Gabe Castillo to become a seasoned System Administrator 3 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for the University of California, San Diego.

As a SysAdmin 3, Gabe ensures the smooth functioning of servers for a variety of research data and educational purposes. "A lot of my role is related to server support," he emphasized, highlighting the criticality of his work in supporting Scripps' diverse research missions. "One of the things that attracted me to the job was the sort of diverse nature of the workloads. It wasn't coming into the office and working on setting up a desktop or a server for standard business needs every day. I like the idea of having a melange of problems to solve."

In the latest bargaining session on November 15, UPTE and UC achieved a notable advancement with an agreement on pay scales at UC Davis, marking a significant step forward. However, challenges persist at UC Santa Barbara with proposed reductions in maximum pay and unanswered concerns regarding lower minimum salaries at UC Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.

It's clear that UPTE's crucial role in safeguarding employee rights against UC's delaying and union-busting tactics leads to improving the material conditions for UC employees systemwide. As we prepare for the next round of negotiations, the win for SysAdmins serves as a rallying cry for solidarity and the collective strength necessary to overcome institutional challenges placed by UC.

As 2023 comes to a close, we can celebrate and rest knowing that our union is stronger than we have ever been. Over the past three months, we collected more than 7,700 bargaining surveys - three times as many as we collected prior to our contract negotiations that began in 2017. In 2024, members will have the opportunity to ratify our Contract Platform and elect our bargaining team before opening negotiations in the summer. Together, we will demand:

• Raises that make up for inflation and keep up with inflation moving forward, as well as bringing our wages up to market.

• Better work-life balance: improved vacation time and rights, flexible schedules, and shorter working hours with no reduction in pay.

• Improved career development: ensuring that increased responsibilities and skills are rewarded and that we don't have to choose between our union rights and benefits and promotions.

• Increased job security and safe staffing, so that we can continue doing this work for the rest of our careers here at UC.

Our fight for better contracts will mean that we can do so much more, while having more time to enjoy other things in our lives.

As you've likely already heard from UC, it is Open Enrollment season again. Unfortunately, UC has not publicly posted the union rates for healthcare plan premiums - perhaps because they don't want their non-represented employees to know the value of a union!

UPTE members won a $25 annual cap on monthly premium increases for Health Net Blue & Gold and Kaiser plans for the duration of our HX, RX, and TX contracts. In 2024, the cap will mean up to $225 monthly savings for those on a Kaiser family plan, compared to non-union employees - more than a full 1% of salary in savings for many of us.

UC Davis employee costs for the UC Blue & Gold Health Insurance plan will have the same cost as the non-UPTE Kaiser Permanente plan for 2024, similar to 2022 and 2023.

UC's higher premium increases on non-represented employees highlights the importance of maintaining a strong and active union. Read more to find tables showing how much UPTE-represented workers save every month on their health insurance premiums compared to our nonunion counterparts at UC.

An election was held via mail ballot from October 25 - November 18, managed by MK Elections. Ballots were mailed on October 25 and the results were tabulated the morning of November 18, 2023. We certify that the ballot tally was fairly and accurately conducted, the secrecy of the ballots was maintained, and that the election results are as indicated as below:

• President:

  • Dan Russell (Elected)

  • Elizabeth Milos

• Chapter Chair, UC Irvine:

  • Stephen Lee (Elected)

  • Jonathan Elder

• Executive Board Member, UC Irvine:

  • Sarah Pinka Majchrowski (Elected)

  • Enrique Trinidad

• Chapter Chair, Lawrence Livermore National Lab:

  • Matthew Epperley (Elected)

  • Jason D. Murray

• Executive Board Members, UC Davis:

  • Eugene Burbige (Elected)

  • Jamie McDole (Elected)

  • Jacob Bernhardt

Number of ballots received and counted: 1050

Absent a challenge to the election, the tentative result shall become final after 10 days from the date of tentative certification. Keep reading to learn more.

For nearly two years, Systems Administrators have been fighting for a fair agreement that properly values their contributions to UC's mission. UC, on the other hand, has continued to propose pay scales that would leave dozens of members above the top step and ineligible for future raises—further contributing to ongoing morale and retention issues.

On October 12, however, SysAdmins at UC Davis took matters into their own hands by marching on their boss and demanding to know why UCD has the lowest proposed SA3 pay ceiling of any campus other than Merced.

"This was a really gratifying experience. For SysAdmins, becoming part of UPTE has been a really long process. Many of us work remotely, or are working on different days, so it can be hard to get us all together. We saw UC making good offers to others campuses like Berkeley, but Davis was still lagging behind and so we felt like we needed to do something," said Joseph Menke, a Systems Administrator at UC Davis.

And at our very next bargaining session, UC came back to the table with an updated proposal that better values our important work.

Physician assistants (PAs) provide medical care under a doctor's supervision, diagnosing and treating illness, prescribing medication, and managing patient care. Physician assistants are vital for expanding access to healthcare, especially in underserved areas.

For nearly a year, PAs at UC San Francisco have been calling out myriad workplace issues that have compromised the important care they provide. Over 100 UCSF healthcare professionals signed a petition eleven months ago highlighting the need for UCSF to focus on recruiting and retaining PAs.

Pamela Chan, a physician assistant at UC San Francisco, shared her passion for patient care: "I love working with my patients. I love the care that I'm able to give to them. I love the interactions I have with my patients. You know, I really want each person to feel that they are heard, that they're taken care of, that they have someone that they can confide in for their medical issues, their medical concerns."

For months, optometrists have been bargaining with UC for an agreement that properly recognizes market conditions for the important work they do. Unfortunately, management has been dragging their heels—motivating optometrists looking for ways they could speed up the pace at the bargaining table.



In the face of mounting challenges and united in their fight to improve patient care, optometrists showed up in force to a recent UC Regents Health Services Committee meeting to make a bold statement about the important work they do and their need for fairer workplaces. Among the speakers was Jennifer Ding, an optometrist at the UC Berkeley campus and UPTE member, who delivered a powerful speech highlighting the crucial role of optometrists in the healthcare system:



”Like many, we work in expensive cities with high costs of living. Yet the compensation the UC offers has not caught up. This has caused recruitment and retention issues, which in turn has meant we are working longer with more cases and in some instances calling patients on our own time. We need the UC to come to the bargaining table with a proposal that reflects reality and to engage in real good-faith bargaining.”

The Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) is an emergency facility that is open 24 hours a day to provide exceptional care to pets and animals.

Workers at VMTH want to give every animal the skilled care, comfort, and attention they deserve but there are structural issues at work getting in the way. We have been calling on management to address a number issues including high levels of turnover, slow hiring processes, inequitable salaries, career parthways, and the need for weekend and holiday pay differentials to better incentivize filling these shifts.

"When I have a high case load, even if they aren't particularly critical cases or ones that need a lot of care, it's just really hard to keep up. You want to be able to make sure that you're catching all of the little things with each individual patient, because it's so crucial that we chart everything. It's really difficult to keep up with the charting, the feeding, and making sure that you're catching anything unusual when you have such a large patient load," said Gemma Blumenshine, an Animal Health Technician at VMTH.

The UC Davis Genome Center comprises a group of six core facilities which provide specialized research services to a diversity of client laboratories worldwide including labs from UC Davis, labs from various other universities, and in some cases corporate labs which need specialized research support.

Recently, after coping with excessive staff turnover, increasing responsibilities, and high inflation, lab members from one of the core facilities met together with UTPE and decided to take collective action.

"This example highlights the power of collective action, which can be effective even with a relatively small number of participants. Group action can be very persuasive to management, whereas individual requests may be prone to rejection. Certainly, group action on an even larger scale such as the UC-systemwide group action facilitated by UPTE has even greater power to improve pay and working conditions for UC staff," said Jeremiah Wells, a Bioanalytical Chemist at UC Davis.

We are nearing the close of our UC bargaining survey campaign, and we're set to begin negotiations in less than nine months. So far, thanks to the great work being done by unit and workplace reps across the state, we have nearly three times as many participants as we had prior to our 2017 negotiations and are closing in on our goal of 7,000 systemwide. If you have yet to complete a bargaining survey, you can do so by visiting www.upte.org/negotiations.

In the new year, we will be presenting the results of the survey, along with a more detailed Contract Platform for comment and - ultimately - ratification by our membership. Together, we can pave the way for the University of California to provide world-class working conditions that reflect the exceptional services and resources we deliver. Winning better contracts here at UC won't just benefit us; it will benefit our patients, students, and research.

Adding your voice by completing a survey will show UC that we are united in our demands—this will help us ensure that they take our demands more seriously and pave the way for us to win the agreement we deserve quicker.