UC Reaches Contract Deal With Service, Hospital Workers, Averting Strike

The University of California reached a tentative contract agreement with the union representing about 40,000 patient care and service employees early Thursday, averting an open-ended systemwide strike.

The 11th-hour deal, after negotiations that stretched over more than two years, includes a reduction in health insurance costs and significant pay increases for members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.

“It’s about time. It’s been a long time coming. It’s well-deserved for our family, our friends, our community,” said Kat Bedford, reached by KQED while driving home to Stockton from the final bargaining session in Oakland that lasted until past midnight.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory facilities worker said bringing down the cost of monthly healthcare premiums, which had nearly doubled for some coworkers, was a priority for the union.

“We are the lowest-paid members with the University of California, so it’s only right that we get a good contract,” said Bedford, who began working for the university as a bus driver in 1997. “This is a huge win for us.”

The union representing grounds keepers, cafeteria workers, patient transporters, X-ray technicians and other employees planned to walk off the job on Thursday with no return date in sight.

The labor action threatened to cause disruptions for patients, students and other employees at all UC campuses and medical centers, likely at a significant cost to the university.

The contentious contract negotiations, which started in January 2024, were marked by five short strikes, with the union accusing California’s second-largest employer of engaging in unfair labor practices, which the UC system denied.

“This contract delivers meaningful pay increases and addresses some of the real affordability pressures our employees are facing, while allowing us to move forward together focused on UC’s mission of patient care, teaching and research,” said Missy Matella, associate vice president for systemwide employee and labor relations for UC, in a statement.

“We’re glad to have reached an agreement with AFSCME that recognizes the important work these employees do every day across UC’s campuses and health centers,” she added.

The union had also sought for the university to provide emergency financial assistance to workers at risk of eviction or foreclosure, based on a program already in place at UC Davis. But Bedford said that item did not make it into the contract agreement, which workers are set to vote on for ratification next week, starting on May 19.

Under the tentative deal, all union employees are set to earn a percentage or lump sum raise on an annual basis, in addition to extra compensation for working on holidays, ratification bonuses and other benefits, said Kennard Harris, a pharmacy technician at UC Davis Medical Center for 10 years.

“We’ve gotten some really fabulous raises that we’ve never gotten before,” Harris said, expressing relief that he and thousands of other UC employees would no longer hold picket lines as previously planned. “I can’t wait until my coworkers and all the different AFSCME 3299 members across the state get to see all the benefits of this new contract.”