The University of California and a union representing 21,000 health care and research professionals and technicians across the University of California system have reached a contract agreement and avoided a strike, the university and union announced Saturday.
The union, University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), had been negotiating with UCLA for 17 months for a new contract, and the two sides had been mediating for three weeks. After the talks collapsed earlier this week, UC said UPTE had contacted the mediator to re-engage with the university.
The union was scheduled to strike on November 17 and 18, and would be joined by more than 60,000 supporters from two additional UC unions, AFSCME 3299 and the California Nurses Assn.
Unions said it would have been the largest labor strike in UC history. AFSCME 3299 represents patient care professional workers, custodians, food service employees, security guards, secretaries and other workers at UC Hospitals and its campuses.
Details of the tentative contract, which union members must ratify, will be published next week, UC and UPTE said. Before the agreement, UPTE workers had been seeking investments from UC in retaining wages and ensuring safe working conditions to help address a staffing crisis that the union said “threatens patient care, student services and the research mission at the heart of the UC system.”
“The final agreement reflects the university’s enduring commitment and UPTE’s support for our employees who play critical roles across the university,” a joint statement from UCLA and UPTE said. “Both parties acknowledge and appreciate the collaborative spirit that has allowed us to move forward and reach a solution that supports our valuable employees and UCLA’s mission of excellence.”
UPTE has canceled its strike notice pending a vote on ratifying membership, according to a statement from Dan Russell, UPTE president and chief negotiator.
“Our tentative agreement is a hard-won victory for 21,000 healthcare, research and technical professionals across UC – a victory that will benefit millions of UC patients and students, as well as people around the world who benefit from cutting-edge UC research,” Russell said. “We continue to stand with AFSCME and CNA members as they fight and strike to reach a similar agreement for their members.”
Meredith Turner, UCLA’s senior vice president for external relations and communications, said the agreement was the result of “constructive dialogue and a shared commitment to finding common ground while maintaining fiscal responsibility in turbulent times.”
Turner had previously opposed the strike, saying in A Video statement He posted online Thursday that UC is “disappointed, but not surprised, that UPTE has once again chosen filibuster rather than dialogue.”
She said UC was negotiating in good faith, offering “real improvements, meaningful raises, strong benefits and fair working conditions that reflect how much we value our employees.”
UPTE has previously participated in three statewide strikes this year as well as a fourth strike last November, which was limited to UC San Francisco.