More than 40,000 UC workers are preparing for an open-ended strike Thursday, threatening medical scheduling and campus dining.
A looming walkout at the University of California could quickly ripple through patient care and everyday campus life, with more than 40,000 workers preparing to strike Thursday if no contract agreement is reached.
The affected roles include patient transport staff. nursing aides. custodians. and campus dining hall employees. among others. according to the report.. A strike would be set to disrupt services across UC campuses. hospitals. and medical centers. though hospitals and medical offices would remain open.
UC has said it is building contingency plans while communicating with patients, students, faculty, and staff about possible interruptions.. The university’s preparations include managing what services can continue if the walkout expands. particularly where staffing is tied to healthcare operations and on-site support roles.
A key element of the disruption involves campus dining and logistics.. Even if clinical facilities remain open. the report said campus dining operations could be limited. and medical appointments could be halted or delayed.. For some UC communities, that means the difference between being able to keep a scheduled visit and having it rescheduled.
The threat centers on contract negotiations between UC and AFSCME Local 3299. which had not reached an agreement by late Wednesday afternoon.. The union is positioning the strike as open-ended. saying it would continue until its demands are met. including higher wages. lower healthcare costs. and talks about how UC can help ease ballooning housing costs.
Union leaders say picket lines and rallies would begin at 8 a.m.. Thursday at every UC campus and medical center, including Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.. The timing signals the walkout could affect the start of the workday for operations that depend on hourly staff and coordinated transport and support services.
UC has said it has offered salary increases, contract ratification bonuses, and caps on some healthcare premium increases. When the union announced the planned strike nearly a month ago, UC characterized its reaction as disappointed, citing what it described as meaningful progress during bargaining.
UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine said they were developing plans designed to reduce disruptions to campus and clinical operations.. Officials also stated that all UCLA Health hospitals and clinics would remain open and operational. while the details of whether procedures. surgeries. or imaging would be rescheduled were not specified in the report.
On the logistics side, UC Santa Cruz officials warned the strike would produce “noticeable impacts” on health services, transportation, and dining. The campus said dining halls would operate with “minimized staffing” and that the Student Health Center would have reduced appointments and services.
The stakes are clearer in light of how earlier labor action affected daily life on UC campuses.. When AFSCME staged a two-day strike in November. multiple UCLA dining halls closed. some switched to takeout service amid long student lines. and students turned to food trucks for meals—an example of how quickly campus routines can change when hourly labor is pulled out.
Beyond dining and transportation, the report described how union members work across healthcare-related functions.. At UC hospitals. AFSCME members are said to work in cafeterias. as radiology technologists. nurse’s aides. and patient transporters. among other roles.. That breadth is part of why UC officials and hospital administrators are emphasizing operational planning rather than simply reassuring the public that care sites will be open.
The union’s demands go beyond wages and healthcare premiums. and are tied directly to housing affordability near major UC hubs.. Leaders say some members are struggling to keep up with rent. including sleeping in their cars to stay close to work and taking longer commutes after moving farther away because housing near campuses—especially in Los Angeles and the Bay Area—has become too expensive.
In a Monday bargaining update posted on its website. UC said it offered a “further sweetened” deal that would provide members up to 34% in pay increases over a three-year contract.. The proposal includes a $2. 000 ratification bonus and caps on HMO premium increases. which UC said could save members as much as $3. 000 each year on healthcare costs.
UC’s labor and employee relations associate vice president. Missy Matella. said the university wants an agreement that puts additional money in employees’ pockets and provides longer-term support focused on affordability.. The report also described the union as disputing how the pay and savings would apply to members across UC.
AFSCME Local 3299 said UC is misrepresenting who would receive the raises and by how much. arguing that the examples do not reflect members’ average pay.. The union also contends that rising healthcare costs would erode any wage gains and that UC has not responded to requests to open discussions on helping workers who are facing housing instability.
Union officials also argued that the wage increases would not affect a large portion of membership as UC framed it.. AFSCME 3299 spokesman Todd Stenhouse said UC’s proposals would leave members “falling behind. ” adding that in real wages. workers are making less than they did a decade earlier—citing inflation and healthcare costs.
According to the report. the threatened walkouts follow labor practice complaints filed by the union with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board.. One complaint alleges UC refused to bargain over the union’s housing demand. arguing workers should not be living out of their cars while UC offers what the union described as low-interest mortgages and cash for down payments to senior executives and faculty.
A second complaint accuses UC of imposing unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment.. The union cited a July action that automatically raised employees to $25 per hour or granted a 5% wage increase—whichever was higher—after UC issued its “last. best and final offer.” The union said the rollout was done in an uneven way. with hundreds allegedly missing the raises or waiting months. and it also alleged new healthcare rates were imposed without bargaining.
The Public Employment Relations Board has not determined whether UC committed wrongdoing, the report stated. Still, the filing underscores that both sides have escalated beyond traditional bargaining, with legal processes now running alongside the union’s threat of labor action.
Union members described the strike as a last resort, emphasizing that they want long-term stability rather than temporary adjustments.. Rosalba Montoya. a medical assistant at UCLA. said in a statement shared on the union’s social media that an open-ended strike is a sacrifice but one meant to pay off.
At a recent UC Board of Regents meeting at UCLA, another AFSCME member told the board that UC’s offers felt like “crumbs,” citing the continuing pressure of housing insecurity and what the member characterized as the lack of solutions to address the housing crisis.
The dispute has drawn support from elected officials, according to the report.. U.S.. Sen.. Adam Schiff urged UC to “bargain in good faith” in a video shared on AFSCME 3299’s account. and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said she hoped a deal would be reached that honors the work union members do and the patients they care for every day.
For UC. the coming days will test how quickly operational plans can substitute for a workforce that includes both clinical-adjacent roles and essential day-to-day services.. For patients and students. it will also determine whether scheduling disruptions stay limited—or broaden into widespread delays as the union moves forward unless negotiations produce an agreement.
UC strike threat AFSCME Local 3299 patient transport staff nursing aides campus dining disruption housing costs negotiations public employment relations board
so the hospitals are closing?? my mom has an appointment next week this is insane
these people make like 80k a year and they still wanna strike lol ok good luck with that. my sister works at a UC and she said most of these workers barely even show up half the time anyway so idk why we supposed to feel bad
I dont think the hospitals are actually closing they said they staying open but I get it cause my cousin had something similar happen at a different hospital strike thing a few years back and they literally turned her away at the door so I dont trust what they say. also this feels like it always happens right before summer for some reason, like every year there is some big strike and nothing ever changes and the workers end up getting like a 2 percent raise and go back anyway. not defending the university either cause they got billions in funding so why are they even fighting over contracts at this point just pay the people
Honestly I blame Newsom for all of this. He runs California and this is happening on his watch. Also the dining hall thing is what really gets me because students pay so much tuition and now they cant even eat on campus. My nephew goes to UCLA and he said the food there is already terrible so maybe the strike will actually make it better lol. But seriously this whole situation could have been avoided if somebody just sat down and talked it out like adults instead of waiting until the last minute every single time. Unions do this on purpose I swear they always pick the worst possible moment to do this stuff and then act surprised when people get mad at them. Not saying the workers are wrong for wanting better pay but the timing is just always so suspicious to me. Anyway hope it gets resolved fast cause sick people shouldnt be caught in the middle of all this.