The University of California is bracing for a massive strike Thursday that would disrupt services at all campuses and and medical centers as more than 40,000 workers \u2014 patient transport staff, nursing aides, custodians, campus dining hall employees \u2014 are prepared to walk out if an agreement is not reached.<\/p>\n
The threatened strike could halt or delay scores of medical appointments, although hospitals will remain open, and it would limit campus dining operations. UC campuses and medical centers are making contingency plans and communicating with patients, students, faculty and staff about potential disruptions.<\/p>\n
Late Wednesday afternoon, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 remained deep in contract negotiations and had not reached an agreement with UC. Union leaders said the open-ended strike would not end until demands are met for better wages, lower healthcare costs and opening talks with UC over how the university can help alleviate ballooning housing costs.<\/p>\n
UC has said it has offered to increase salaries, give contract ratification bonuses and cap some healthcare premium increases. When the union announced the strike<\/a> nearly a month ago, a UC spokesperson said the university was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the decision \u201cdespite the significant progress made at the bargaining table.\u201d<\/p>\n The union said picket lines and rallies would begin 8 a.m. Thursday at every UC campus and hospital, including Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The threatened work stoppage would culminate more than two years of contract negotiations after several one- and multi-day strikes<\/p>\n What jobs do AFSCME members hold?<\/p>\n AFSCME\u2019s members include custodians, gardeners, dining hall food service workers, transportation workers and skilled craft workers such as plumbers and electricians. At UC hospitals, union members work in cafeterias, as radiology technologists, nurse\u2019s aides and patient transporters, among other roles.<\/p>\n UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine were \u201cdeveloping plans to minimize disruptions to campus and clinical operations,\u201d and all UCLA Health hospitals and clinics \u201cwill remain open and operational,\u201d officials said in a Monday announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The message did not specify whether procedures, surgeries or imaging will be rescheduled, or detail how work including custodial services would be carried out.<\/p>\n At UC Santa Cruz, Interim Campus Provost Paul Koch said in a campus statement<\/a> the strike would have \u201cnoticeable impacts\u201d on health services, transportation and dining, with dining halls operating under \u201cminimized staffing\u201d and the Student Health Center having \u201creduced appointments and services.\u201d<\/p>\n When the union staged a two-day strike in November, multiple UCLA dining halls closed, some offered only takeout service amid long student lines, and students turned to food trucks for meals.<\/p>\n Union demands<\/p>\n Union leaders say some members are sleeping in their cars to be close to work, falling behind on rent and taking on longer commutes after moving farther away because they cannot afford housing near campuses, particularly in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.<\/p>\n In a Monday update<\/a> on bargaining posted to its website, UC said it had offered a \u201cfurther sweetened\u201d deal to give members up to 34% in pay increases over a three-year contract. The proposal offered a $2,000 ratification bonus and caps on HMO premium increases that UC said could save members up to $3,000 each year on healthcare costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know employees are looking for certainty, stability and meaningful economic support, and UC remains committed to reaching an agreement that puts additional money in employees\u2019 pockets and provides long-term support to address affordability,\u201d Missy Matella, UC\u2019s associate vice president for systemwide labor and employee relations, wrote in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The union contends UC is misrepresenting who would receive the raises and by how much, arguing the examples are not representative of a membership with an average salary of $62,000. It says that rising healthcare costs would erode any wage gains. It also says UC has not responded to its requests to open up discussions on how to help members struggling with housing.<\/p>\n The wage increase \u201cdoesn\u2019t apply to a third of the members,\u201d said AFSCME 3299 spokesman Todd Stenhouse. Stenhouse said UC\u2019s offers would leave members \u201cfalling behind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn real wages, they are making 10% less than they were 10 years ago. So you\u2019ve got people that are already living on a razor\u2019s edge making less,\u201d Stenhouse said, citing inflation and healthcare premiums among other areas.<\/p>\n The threatened walkouts come after the union filed two labor practice complaints with the state\u2019s Public Employment Relations Board.<\/p>\n One accuses UC of refusing to bargain over its housing demand, arguing workers \u201cshould not be living out of their cars\u201d while UC offers \u201clow-interest mortgages and cash for down payments to its much more affluent senior executives and faculty.\u201d <\/p>\n The second accuses UC of imposing \u201cunilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment,\u201d including a July action automatically raising employees to $25 per hour or granting a 5% wage increase \u2014 whichever was higher \u2014 after the university issued its \u201clast, best and final offer.\u201d <\/p>\n The union said the rollout was done \u201cin a scattershot manner,\u201d with hundreds either not receiving the raises or waiting months, and alleged UC also imposed new healthcare rates without bargaining.<\/p>\n The labor board has not determined whether UC engaged in wrongdoing.<\/p>\n \u2018Going on … strike is a sacrifice\u2019<\/p>\n Union members said the strike is a last resort.<\/p>\n \u201cI deserve long-term stability. Not short-term tricks and ploys,\u201d Rosalba Montoya, a medical assistant at UCLA, said in a recent statement posted on the union\u2019s social media. \u201cGoing on an open-ended strike is a sacrifice, but it\u2019s one that will pay off in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n At a recent UC Board of Regents meeting at UCLA, another AFSCME member told the board<\/a>: \u201cYou guys keep offering us crumbs. I don\u2019t have a home of my own. I\u2019m one emergency away from being on the streets and yet you tell us that there\u2019s no money, no solution, no real effort to address the housing crisis, or provide a livable wage.\u201d<\/p>\n The union has also received supportive messages from several elected officials.<\/p>\n