Our colleagues from UPTE (representing healthcare professions, technical workers, laboratory assistants and research specialists at UC) and AFSCME 3299 (representing janitors, food service, transportation, patient care specialists, and skilled craft workers at UC) will be going out on strike beginning tomorrow Feb. 26.
These workers are our colleagues and vital members of our campus communities. They are confronting many of the same issues we are: an affordability crisis that makes it impossible to live in the communities where they work; chronic short staffing that increases their workloads and puts their patients and students in danger; and restrictions on their rights to protest and exercise their first amendment rights. We share their concerns and stand with our union siblings in solidarity.
We’ve put together this short FAQ for our members to understand your rights and how you can support our striking colleagues. To find a picket line on your campus:
- Find a picket line – AFSCME: https://afscme3299.org/blog/strikefeb-2025/
- Find a picket line – UPTE: https://upte.org/ucstrike
UPTE represents 20,000 healthcare professions, technical workers, laboratory assistants and research specialists across the UC system. They have announced work stoppages at campuses and healthcare facilities across the state from Feb. 26-28 (Wednesday-Friday).
AFSCME represents 35,000 service workers (janitors, food service, transportation), patient care specialists, and skilled craft workers on all UC campuses as well as in the UC’s hospitals. They have announced work stoppages at UC Medical Centers and campuses Feb. 26-27 (Wednesday-Thursday).
These workers are our colleagues and vital members of our campus communities. You should expect disruptions on your campus and because that’s what strikes are designed to do: demonstrate the value of your labor by refusing to perform that work.
In both cases, our union siblings are striking over the UC’s unfair labor practices (ULPs) and bad faith bargaining. Both unions have been bargaining new contracts with the university for months and their members voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike.
Building on a short strike at UCSF in November, UPTE workers are striking in defense of their rights. Their ULPs charge that UC interfered with members’ rights in their response, including by limiting their free speech and imposing restrictions on where leaflets can be distributed and rallies can be held. UPTE has been bargaining for months for a range of demands such as:
- 30% raises over 3 years and minimum starting pay rates
- limits on healthcare and parking costs
- access to remote working arrangements
- protections against the UC removing job titles from their bargaining unit
UPTE argues that UC has responded to these reasonable demands with insufficient and disrespectful counter offers. They argue that chronic short staffing and recruitment and retention problems have created a crisis that is impacting patient care, research and education at UC. Learn more at https://upte.org/ucstrike
AFSCME’s ULP charges concern what they view as a systemwide effort to silence workers, preventing them from protesting and exercising their rights, and threatening workers with discipline and arrest and other intimidation tactics. Their current contract campaign has been focused on the high cost of housing and cost-of-living faced by their members. Like teaching faculty and librarians, some 86% of AFSCME workers cannot afford to live in the communities where they work. Their proposals include:
- rent and mortgage assistance and access to low-interest home loans
- Calling on UC to invest in affordable housing for its workforce
- Caps on healthcare and parking cost increases
- Demands that UC recognize and abide by the new minimum wage of $25/hour for healthcare workers established by the state of CA
[Note: UC was established as a “public trust” under the CA Constitution, which they have repeatedly argued in court makes them exempt from CA’s minimum wage laws.]
As with UPTE, UC has refused to address many of these demands and AFSCME argues that they have failed to bargain in good faith. Learn more at https://afscme3299.org/blog/strikefeb-2025/
Yes! UC-AFT workers are protected by the University of California’s Academic Freedom policy (APM 010) which is codified in Unit 17 and 18 CBAs (collective bargaining agreements). We have the right to express our opinions and to participate in peaceful action as university community members. We must fulfill our professional obligations under the provisions of our Academic Responsibilities (Unit 18 Article 3) and Professional Activities (Unit 17 Article 3) according to our respective CBAs. This means that we must go to work and to class, and we must complete all of our assigned duties as instructional faculty and librarians. Participation in campus activities that do not interfere with those obligations or with the normal functioning of the university is permitted and should not be interfered with by the university.
Like other union-represented employees, teaching faculty and librarians who are represented by UC-AFT have what are known as “Weingarten Rights,” a right to union representation during any investigatory interview with management. If you are asked by your supervisor or administrator to join a meeting that you reasonably believe might lead to discipline, you can request that a union representative of your choosing be present. Note: your supervisor or administrator does not have to notify you of your rights to union representation – you must assert your rights. To do so, say:
“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, terminated, or could affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present. Until my representative arrives, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”
Should your department attempt to discipline you, contact your campus rep immediately.
Academic Freedom allows us to make decisions about our courses, including modifications to pedagogy and course policies. We also have the right to modify our courses in ways that reflect unique circumstances on campus. As we mention above, as instructors we must maintain our Academic Responsibility (Unit 18 Article 3) as well.
UC-AFT encourages any teaching faculty member who modifies their course to ensure that changes do not harm students, and to clearly notify all of their students of any change.
As we saw during the UAW strike, campus administrators may ask us to participate in their enforcement against striking workers. You do not have to comply with such requests: your academic freedom gives you a right to maintain and uphold reasonable accommodation agreements during periods of campus unrest.
We can join picket lines while we are not teaching or performing our assigned work. Some actions we can take include:
- coordinating visits to the picket line and/or shows of support with other members of our local chapter
- bringing food to the picket lines
- wearing your union t-shirt or buttons in solidarity
- expressing your support for worker on social media
- not attending or participating in other campus activities (seminars, talks, optional department meetings, etc.) or otherwise unnecessarily crossing picket lines.
Supporters of AFSCME are also calling for boycotts on selected stores operated by UC. Check with organizers on your campus for more information on specific locations.
