AFSCME Local 3299 — a union representing University of California service and patient care workers — and members of the University Professional and Technical Employees at the University of California San Francisco are both scheduled to begin strikes Nov. 20.
Five things to know:
1. AFSCME represents about 26,000 healthcare workers and about 11,000 service workers across 10 UC campuses and five medical centers. This includes phlebotomists, infusionists, operating room specialists, respiratory therapists, patient care assistants, pharmacy technicians, lab technicians, custodians, shuttle drivers and food service workers.
2. UPTE represents approximately 4,000 UCSF healthcare, research and technical workers. Of these, approximately 2,040 are healthcare workers.
3. Both unions are set to strike Nov. 20 and 21. However, it is unclear how many workers who are in support of the strikes will participate.
4. The strikes follow months of bargaining. UPTE and the University of California began negotiating a new labor contract in June. AFSCME and the University of California have been working to negotiate successor labor contracts since January.
5. Amid negotiations, both unions have alleged bad-faith bargaining by the University of California and filed complaints with the California Public Employment Relations Board. The University of California denied the allegations in a Nov. 1 statement.