{"id":44209,"date":"2025-09-27T12:27:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T19:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=44209"},"modified":"2025-09-27T12:27:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T19:27:08","slug":"union-representing-22000-uc-professionals-declares-strike-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/27\/union-representing-22000-uc-professionals-declares-strike-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Union representing 22,000 UC professionals declares strike vote"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Sumaya%20Azhar\">Sumaya Azhar | Staff<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sep 25, 2025 (DailyCal.org)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/dailycal.org\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/5\/ca\/5cae623e-bdf4-4f7f-babc-8249f8f5b589\/68d4bf3e7f802.image.jpg?resize=400%2C258\" alt=\"UPTE_Ethan-Mauk_SS.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The most recent contract between the UC and the University Professional and Technical Employees expired in Oct. 2024.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Ethan%20Mauk\">Ethan Mauk | Senior Staff<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The University Professional and Technical Employees, or UPTE,&nbsp;which represents 22,000 healthcare, technical and research professionals across the UC system, has opened a strike vote in response to the UC\u2019s practices during contract negotiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most recent contract between the UC and UPTE expired in Oct. 2024. The two parties have been negotiating new contracts since June 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the UPTE website, UPTE members\u2019 working conditions and wages have fallen behind that of other workers since the university\u2019s COVID-19 hiring freeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the only bird flu testing lab for farms in the state \u2014 which is staffed by UPTE members \u2014 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 \u201ckept the lab running by themselves for months and months,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u201cdoesn\u2019t really engage with (UPTE\u2019s) proposals \u2026 there\u2019s not really a discussion or a back and forth conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a Sept. 10 press release, the UC system announced its Last, Best and Final Offer, or LBFO, to UPTE.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The offer includes a 5% pay increase in the first year of the contract,&nbsp;along with \u201cprotections against rising health care costs, and expanded workplace benefits\u201d for UPTE-represented employees, according to a fact sheet on the LBFO released by the university.&nbsp;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur Last, Best, and Final Offer to UPTE balances fairness, equity, and long-term sustainability while recognizing the financial pressures on the UC system,\u201d said UC spokesperson Heather Hansen in an email. \u201cWhile 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.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u201cmore serious\u201d offer so that a strike can be avoided.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gardner said a lot of UPTE\u2019s proposals are about quality of life and cost little or nothing.&nbsp;Some, he added, would even save the university money in the long run.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve made it clear to the university, both the bargaining team and publicly in our statements, that our goal is not to strike,\u201d Russell said. \u201cOur goal is to get a contract that will address the crisis of recruitment and retention.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University Professional and Technical Employees, or UPTE,&nbsp;which represents 22,000 healthcare, technical and research professionals across the UC system, has opened a strike vote in response to the UC\u2019s practices during contract negotiation. The most recent contract between the UC and UPTE expired in Oct. 2024. The two parties have&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/27\/union-representing-22000-uc-professionals-declares-strike-vote\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44209"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44209"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44210,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44209\/revisions\/44210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}