Workers at Bay Area UC campuses join statewide strike over wages, conditions
Workers at University of California campuses and medical facilities in the Bay Area joined thousands of employees statewide Tuesday in a one-day strike, claiming unfair labor practices.
About 20,000 employees represented by the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) and nearly 40,000 workers with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees began their strike around 7 a.m.
UC Berkeley, UCSF, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were among the Bay Area locations where workers were striking.
In a statement announcing the strike, UPTE said the strike was in response to what they said was the UC system's "continuous bad-faith bargaining and unfair labor practices."
"The latest ULP charge against UC centers on UC forcing newly organized groups of workers into their own separate negotiation process to render the bargaining process hopelessly impractical and ineffective—a classic "divide-and-conquer" strategy that violates the law. They have also doubled down on their plans to unilaterally and unlawfully increase health insurance costs for some of the most vulnerable union members outside of the bargaining process," the union said.
In response, the University of California Office of the President said in part, "We have met with AFSCME and UPTE for months to try to settle these contracts, offering generous wage increases, monthly credits to reduce health care expenses for lower-wage earners, expanded sick leave, and improved ability to schedule vacation time."
"UPTE and AFSCME are not being forthright in their characterizations, which is upsetting since we've made sincere efforts to find mutually beneficial solutions. Regardless, we are hopeful AFSCME and UPTE will make meaningful efforts to settle these contracts soon," the university went on to say.
In a separate statement obtained by CBS News Bay Area, a UC spokesperson said the union's filing of an unfair labor practice charge does not mean there has been a finding of wrongdoing by the university, and that the university disagrees with their claims.
Officials at UCSF Health said they would continue to have regular operations at their facilities, including emergency care, during Tuesday's strike.
"The health system is working to minimize impacts on patients, with plans in place to bring in qualified replacement staff. Despite these efforts, some procedures may need to be rescheduled," UCSF said in a statement.
Tuesday's strike follows a similar action held by UC workers in late February.
