UPTE-CWA Announces Two-Day Strike

On November 20, University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE-CWA Local 9119) members at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) will begin a two-day strike in response to the University of California’s ongoing refusal to bargain in good faith with healthcare, research, and technical staff. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board in which they’ve also cited the university’s decision to unilaterally implement healthcare cost increases on members outside of bargaining and its refusal to share the extent of persistent staffing vacancies that workers say puts patient care at risk.

“Right now, patients are waiting in hallways because the University of California refuses to be transparent about the staffing crisis they have orchestrated. When patient demand goes up, hospitals need more staff. The UC system may not care to prioritize patient care, but our members do and are willing to hold UC accountable,” said UPTE-CWA President and Bargaining Team Chief Negotiator Dan Russell.

Among the 4,000 workers represented by UPTE-CWA across the UCSF Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses are physician assistants, pharmacists, RN case managers, rehabilitation specialists, mental health clinicians, clinical lab scientists, optometrists, staff research associates, language interpreters, IT workers, and more. They provide world-class patient care in UC hospitals and medical centers and advance important medical and scientific research, including biomedical, cardiovascular, and cancer research, as well as work on experimental medicines, HIV, neurodegenerative disorders, and infectious diseases.

This limited strike is meant as a warning to the entire University of California system. All 20,000 UPTE-represented workers are encouraged to be ready to join their union siblings should the university continue its unfair labor practices.

If you’d like to show solidarity, you can share the UPTE-CWA messages on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or Threads.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.