UC strike averted as tentative agreement reached with 40,000 service and hospital workers

"“WE WON! Strike is off!” read an announcement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. Workers were told to report to work Thursday at the system's sprawling network of medical centers and campuses."

"If approved by members, the deal would gradually raise the lowest-paid workers to an hourly wage of $30.10 by 2029. They currently make $25 per hour under raises UC instituted last year. The tentative agreement would also give workers a one-time $1,500 payment, cap healthcare premium increases, put limitations on layoffs, expand leave and break abilities, add new holidays where workers get premium pay, and place caps on parking increases and other workplace costs."

"AFSCME's members include custodians, gardeners, dining hall food service staff, transportation workers and skilled craft workers such as plumbers and electricians. At UC hospitals, union members work in cafeterias, as radiology technologists and as nurse's aides, among other roles."

"Because about two-thirds of union members work at UC's academic health centers at UCLA, UC Irvine, UC San Francisco and UC Davis, hospital officials had been preparing for significant challenges to patient care as the strike deadline approached."

A tentative agreement between the University of California and leaders of 40,000 union members canceled a planned strike. The AFSCME Local 3299 strike would have disrupted medical appointments and campus dining across UC’s medical centers and campuses. Union members include custodians, gardeners, dining hall food service staff, transportation workers, and skilled trades such as plumbers and electricians, with roles also present in UC hospitals. The agreement would raise the lowest-paid workers to $30.10 per hour by 2029, add a one-time $1,500 payment, cap healthcare premium increases, and limit layoffs. It would also expand leave and break abilities, add premium-pay holidays, and cap parking and other workplace cost increases.

Read at Los Angeles Times