- Sumaya Azhar | Staff
- Sep 25, 2025 (DailyCal.org)
The University Professional and Technical Employees, or UPTE, which represents 22,000 healthcare, technical and research professionals across the UC system, has opened a strike vote in response to the UC’s practices during contract negotiation.
The most recent contract between the UC and UPTE expired in Oct. 2024. The two parties have been negotiating new contracts since June 2024.
According to the UPTE website, UPTE members’ working conditions and wages have fallen behind that of other workers since the university’s COVID-19 hiring freeze.
At the only bird flu testing lab for farms in the state — which is staffed by UPTE members — just two out of seven individuals on staff were present most of the year, according to campus Staff Research Associate 2 Jamie Gardner. The two staff members “kept the lab running by themselves for months and months,” Gardner said.
UPTE president and campus Business Technical Support Analyst 3 Dan Russell alleged that the UC system has not been bargaining in good faith. He said at the bargaining table that the university “doesn’t really engage with (UPTE’s) proposals … there’s not really a discussion or a back and forth conversation.”
In a Sept. 10 press release, the UC system announced its Last, Best and Final Offer, or LBFO, to UPTE.
The offer includes a 5% pay increase in the first year of the contract, along with “protections against rising health care costs, and expanded workplace benefits” for UPTE-represented employees, according to a fact sheet on the LBFO released by the university. This is in light of significant financial uncertainty for the UC system that is caused by state and federal activities, according to the press release.
“Our Last, Best, and Final Offer to UPTE balances fairness, equity, and long-term sustainability while recognizing the financial pressures on the UC system,” said UC spokesperson Heather Hansen in an email. “While we recognize this does not solve every challenge around health care affordability (for UPTE-represented employees), it is a meaningful step forward that provides direct, tangible relief to those who need it most.”
Russell said UPTE has made it clear that they are not interested in meeting about the LBFO. He said he hopes the university will soon present a “more serious” offer so that a strike can be avoided.
Gardner said a lot of UPTE’s proposals are about quality of life and cost little or nothing. Some, he added, would even save the university money in the long run.
According to Russell, a majority yes vote would not immediately cause a strike to be declared, but it would authorize UPTE leadership to call one.
“We’ve made it clear to the university, both the bargaining team and publicly in our statements, that our goal is not to strike,” Russell said. “Our goal is to get a contract that will address the crisis of recruitment and retention.”
