UC, union reach last-minute deal, hours before 40,000 workers were set to strike
The University of California and a union representing over 40,000 of its workers reached a tentative agreement just hours before workers were set to go on strike that would have likely disrupted patient services across the university’s 10 campuses.
Instead of launching the first open-ended strike in the UC health system, leaders of AFSCME Local 3299 said their members will be at work on Thursday supporting patients and students.
The last-minute deal includes minimum-wage increases over several years, beginning at $25 per hour and reaching over $30 per hour by April 2029. Between 2026 and 2029, workers would receive a total annual wage increase of 19% in addition to step increases of 2% each year. The new agreement established caps for healthcare plans, which the union said will result in rates to decrease next year.
AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant said that wage increases, healthcare rate decreases and workplace safety protections secured in the agreement are a result of frontline workers “demanding the university take meaningful action to address the affordability crisis pricing them out of the communities where they work.”
“It means UC’s most vulnerable workers will no longer have to choose between paying for healthcare and paying for groceries,” Avant said in a statement.
University officials said they were glad to have reached an agreement just hours before thousands of workers were set to go on strike.
“This contract delivers meaningful pay increases and addresses some of the real affordability pressures our employees are facing, while allowing us to move forward together focused on UC’s mission of patient care, teaching and research,” Missy Matella, UC’s associate vice president for systemwide employee and labor relations, said in a statement.
Negotiations between the two parties have been ongoing for over two years and the fight between the union and UC has been contentious at times. In November 2024, AFSCME Local 3299 went on a multi-day strike over low wages and health care costs.
Last year, AFSCME Local 3299 alleged that the university imposed increases to members’ healthcare rates and said that UC refused to bargain over a proposal to provide low-wage employees with housing aid. Union officials announced their intention to go on strike one month ago to allow UC to prepare for potential disruptions to patient services given the size of the labor group.
The union represents roughly 6,000 workers at UC Davis. UC Health cares for 2.5 million patients each year and serves Californians in 99% of the state’s ZIP codes.
The union plans to hold a ratification vote between May 19 and May 21.
