UPTE behavioral health clinicians at UC Santa Cruz recently showcased their dedication to their profession by taking their grievances directly to the campus's administration. In their march on John Bollard, Associate Vice Chancellor and Student Health & Wellness Chief Well-being Officer, these committed professionals demanded the recognition and respect their vital work deserves.

Amelia Cutten, a Behavioral Health Counselor 3 working at UC Santa Cruz for four-and-a-half years and a UPTE Healthcare Professionals Unit Representative, highlighted the critical nature of their roles: "Every day, we're on the front lines, offering support and guidance to students navigating the complexities of mental health challenges. Our work is not just about counseling; it's about creating a safe, supportive environment that fosters growth and healing."

"Our hope is that these actions will bring to light the importance of what we do at Counseling and Psychological Services and lead to a meaningful engagement with the administration," Amelia continued. In demanding recognition, behavioral health clinicians highlight an often-overlooked truth: that the health of any academic institution lies not just in its achievements and accolades but in the strength and support of its student community. "We are here not just for ourselves but for the betterment of the entire university community."

At UCLA, the systems administrators who keep the lights on, the computer systems functioning, and videos streaming at their highest quality recently flexed their collective muscle. Ernie Ibarra, a System Administrator 3 at the University of California, Los Angeles, for over twenty-five years, and his colleagues recently staged a march on the Executive Vice Chancellor to call for fairness in pay and recognition of their essential contributions.

Ernie highlighted that researching targets for petitions is an excellent way to move coworkers into becoming more active as UPTE members: "It's about stirring and encouraging them to take action, whether signing a petition or participating in a march. Once we identified Hunt as a target, we saw increased engagement. Notably, individuals who had been inactive for over three years suddenly participated by signing our petition. That was intriguing, especially considering some of these individuals had never before taken part in any of our initiatives since joining UPTE."

The petition, a document laden with the collective aspirations and grievances of UCLA's IT workforce, underscored the stark disparities in pay between UCLA and other UC campuses despite the escalating cost of living in Los Angeles. "We are not asking for more than we deserve; we are asking for equity and recognition," Ernie expressed, encapsulating the essence of their campaign.

Extreme weather events across California did not deter UPTE optometrists from striking. On February 6 and 7, 2024, these healthcare professionals participated in an unfair labor practice strike with a clear message to UC: Stop your union-busting and bad-faith bargaining tactics and address the issues optometrists are demanding and their patients deserve.

"In February, over a thousand people—fellow UPTE members, community supporters, university students, other labor unions, and public officials— joined us on the frontline, battling through harsh winds and relentless rain, standing firm against the oppressive tactics of UC," said Lauren Guajardo, an Optometrist 3, working at the University of California, Davis. "Together, we made our demands clear to the University of California: End your union-busting tactics and bad-faith bargaining now. Address the urgent demands of optometrists and the rightful needs of our patients. It's time for action, not excuses."

"Our recent two-day unfair labor practice strike demonstrated our refusal to let UC undermine negotiations and our efforts to improve recruitment, retention, and patient care," conveyed Dan Russell, the president of UPTE. "As we continue preparations for full contract negotiations later this year, we should take every opportunity to show the University that we will not stand for its attempts to undermine our rights."

Optometrists are set to bargain next with UC in late March. Their resolve and vision are clear: UC optometrists will continue fighting for good-faith bargaining during contract negotiations and—ultimately—a contract that puts patient care front and center.

The University of California is the third largest employer in our state. Workers like us at UC are responsible for providing life-saving medical treatment to millions of patients, life-changing higher education to hundreds of thousands of students, and world-changing research to benefit humanity.

As one of the most influential employers in our state, and one of our largest public institutions, UC also has a responsibility to raise standards for all Californians. What is preventing UC from investing in front-line staff and prioritizing its mission? High compensation for an ever-increasing number of senior administrators and executives, unnecessarily large investment pools, and massive expenditures on consulting, marketing, construction, and land acquisition.

In our bargaining survey, the majority of our members said they did not believe UC was doing all it can to provide the best patient care, education, and research. More than 95% of you said that UC should be setting better standards for what it means to live and work in our state.

Our 2024 contract fight is our opportunity to reshape our work lives across UC for the years to come. Let's make UC give us the resources and support we need to care for our patients, conduct our research, and support our students.

Social workers in the UCSF Parnassus Emergency Department (ED) do challenging work with vulnerable populations. They cover shifts seven days a week with close to 24/7 coverage. Their work can be dangerous—as a methamphetamine epidemic ravages San Francisco, people struggling with addiction who are often living on the street are brought to the ED on involuntary psychiatric holds or for jail clearance to be medicated and restrained.

"You really see what poverty and addiction look like firsthand. We care for some of San Francisco's most marginalized people with lots of trauma and untreated mental illness. There aren't enough psych beds for people, especially the uninsured or people with Medi-Cal," said Cecily Donegan, a Social Worker in the UCSF Parnassus ED. "We only have four secure rooms and sometimes have 10-15 people on a psych hold. Workplace violence is a real concern for us."

Together, Cecily and her coworkers wrote a list of demands covering their schedule, need for appropriate staffing, and their compensation concerns. They delivered the demands together to the head of their department, which resulted in a meeting and further discussion. Almost immediately, they won a schedule change that has been a tremendous benefit to their team, with more discussions ongoing.

Mental health workers across UC are standing up and advocating for themselves and the important mental health care they provide. On January 10, over 20 health professionals at UC Santa Barbara delivered a petition and met with Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs to express concerns about workload and cost of living, while Behavioral Health Workers at UC Riverside successfully petitioned for reclassification.

UC administrators have failed to staff up campus mental health services to meet demand. Clinicians are concerned about delays in care for students who need help managing stress, depression, substance abuse, and suicidality. Frontline mental health workers are struggling with stress and trauma of their own, as many worry about making ends meet.

"Many of us sacrifice with long commutes and high costs of living to work with our students. We often have to refer high-acuity students to outside providers, often resulting in further delays, compromised care, and increased complications with insurance," said Brandi McCallister, a Clinical Social Worker 3 at UCSB Student Health. "UCSB must provide easily accessible care to students. That's why almost every CAPs and Student Health professional signed our petition asking for an equity pay increase so that mental health workers can fulfill UC's promise to its students."

UC Irvine's nurse navigators (also sometimes called case managers) are responsible for coordinating all of the cancer patient's treatment and care plans while also providing education and emotional support during this difficult time in their lives. Oncology nurse navigators specialize in assisting cancer patients and their families with navigating the complex healthcare system by playing an important role in ensuring that all aspects of patient care run smoothly, from diagnosis to treatment and survivorship.

Last year, UC Irvine management went a step further by trying to take away the nurse navigators' work spaces, leaving many without a desk and some forced to work in common areas that are disruptive. Having assigned cubicles is more important than you might think for nurse navigators—these workers have lots of sensitive documentation that they handle every day, including insurance information, patient health information, discharge plan and continuing care paperwork, and more.

"Since our petition and march on the boss campaign, I can definitely notice a difference in the way that Labor Relations and management interact with us. They are much more likely to go out of their way to get our input or run things by us first, which at the end of the day is the kind of dignity and respect we all deserve from management," said Sarah Pinka-Majchrowski, a Nurse Navigator at UC Irvine. "They have committed to hiring more nurses, which will make it easier for us to take PTO or vacation to avoid burnout.”

For over a year, our optometrist colleagues at the University of California have faced UC's bad-faith bargaining, resulting in prolonged negotiations and the loss of skilled staff. UC's initial proposals have been unacceptably low. They've refused to discuss pressing issues like pay scale placement and have failed to promptly provide the necessary information for us to bargain effectively.

Fed up with UC's unfair labor practices, our optometrist members overwhelmingly voted to hold a ULP strike on February 6 and 7, 2024. Optometrists across the state will be on strike, but picket line locations will be concentrated in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Davis, and San Diego.

In addition to conducting routine eye care, optometrists perform triage, pre- and post-op procedures, handle complicated referrals, and work with vulnerable populations in clinics across the state. Despite their efforts to secure a contract that will invest in the care they provide, optometrists report increasing patient loads, short-staffing, and below-market pay. This leads to recruitment and retention issues, which result in delayed care for patients.

In June of 2023, healthcare workers at Venice Family Clinic (VFC) joined our union. Ever since, they have been getting organized and ready to fight for a fair contract and to stop harmful service cuts. The clinic, which serves communities across the west side of Los Angeles, is an affiliate of UCLA Health and UPTE members employed there are on UCLA's payroll.

With negotiations underway, UPTE members at VFC recently held a rally outside of the clinic's Rose Ave location in Venice demanding quality patient care, fair pay, and no cuts to service. We were joined by community allies POWER (People Organized for Westside Renewal) as well as Teamsters Local 2010, who also represents workers at VFC. 

"We provide high-quality, accessible, and comprehensive services to vulnerable or underserved people. We help tens of thousands of our patients access health care, health insurance enrollment assistance, harm reduction, services, case management, counseling and food pantries. But we are juggling more work than we can handle and struggling to make ends meet. Our patients feel the pinch at the end of the day. VFC's own website states that they are experiencing a year of growth and expanding programs. It's our work that is driving that success—why doesn't management think we should get what we deserve?" said Gloria Hernandez, who works at VFC as a social work associate and domestic violence counselor, as well as lead bargainer for UPTE.

UPTE members from the Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (EACL) and BioTech Laboratory at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS) marched on management, demanding transparency and a follow-up on their petition for staff research associates and laboratory assistants requiring equity reviews, more cross-training opportunities, and improved career development and staffing.

"A significant problem is the high turnover we've been having in our lab," said Téa Schepper, a Staff Research Associate 1 in the CAHFS Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory. "Much of the turnover is due to people finding better job offers with higher pay. We had someone who worked here for three months, but then she got a higher-paying job and just left. Many of the people I worked with when I first came here actually are no longer working here anymore."

The march on the boss forced management at CAHFS to commit to an equity review—not just for the two laboratories but for the entire laboratory system. UPTE members will hold a strategy meeting this month to plan the next steps in winning their demands.

CC Gerlach's journey at the UC San Diego Eating Disorders Center, initially filled with learning and growth, took a dramatic turn as systemic issues became apparent. "We were getting burnt out. This can't be normal," she remarked. The pivotal moment came with the revelation that their titles would be frozen, denying them deserved compensation for professional advancements. The unfairness galvanized CC and her colleagues into action, leading them to organize a march to confront their management.

The march represented a critical juncture in their struggle. CC and her colleagues embarked on a daunting task: drafting a petition, a first for many of them. "We had no prior experience," CC admitted, but the necessity of their cause pushed them forward. Inspired by other university movements, they crafted a petition that would become the cornerstone of their action.

The march led to management's promise of a town hall meeting. CC emphasized the importance of persistence: "We at least get that town hall meeting." This sentiment underscored the ongoing need for advocacy and follow-up to ensure their demands were met. Reflecting on the march, CC felt a surge of empowerment. "It truly felt empowering to be the ones to be leading the change," CC stated.

November 29 marked a turning point in the efforts of UPTE Mt. San Jacinto College Associate Faculty, as fifty members staged a call-in campaign to the college's Board of Trustees. Members are fighting for adequate healthcare coverage, pay parity with full-time instructors, seniority-based rights, sufficient raises, longevity increases, and paid time for office hours. The members targeted the Board of Trustees, which governs the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District. 

On the evening of November 29, associate faculty members and allies, including classified staff, full-time faculty, and students, came together to make their voices heard. The strategy was simple yet powerful: to flood the Board's voicemail with a deluge of calls, each echoing our solid and united demands.

"The hope is that some of these new board members will know what's happening at the college and help facilitate our demands," conveyed Marina. "So that's why the outreach was important: to let the new members know what's going on and to garner support. It's important that we show up in numbers because the school will respond to the numbers. I mean, if we show that we are going to be vocal and we have mobilized and we have support, then they will respond."

The election committee certifies that the ballot tally was fairly and accurately conducted, the secrecy of the ballots was maintained, and that the election results are as indicated below:

• President:

  • Dan Russell (Elected)

  • Elizabeth Milos

• Chapter Chair, UC Irvine:

  • Stephen Lee (Elected)

  • Jonathan Elder

• Executive Board Member, UC Irvine:

  • Sarah Pinka Majchrowski (Elected)

  • Enrique Trinidad

• Chapter Chair, Lawrence Livermore National Lab:

  • Matthew Epperley (Elected)

  • Jason D. Murray

• Executive Board Members, UC Davis:

  • Eugene Burbige (Elected)

  • Jamie McDole (Elected)

  • Jacob Bernhardt

Number of ballots received and counted: 1050

Absent a challenge to the election, the tentative result shall become final after 10 days from the date of tentative certification. Keep reading to learn more.

As 2023 comes to a close, we can celebrate and rest knowing that our union is stronger than we have ever been. Over the past three months, we collected more than 7,700 bargaining surveys - three times as many as we collected prior to our contract negotiations that began in 2017. In 2024, members will have the opportunity to ratify our Contract Platform and elect our bargaining team before opening negotiations in the summer. Together, we will demand:

• Raises that make up for inflation and keep up with inflation moving forward, as well as bringing our wages up to market.

• Better work-life balance: improved vacation time and rights, flexible schedules, and shorter working hours with no reduction in pay.

• Improved career development: ensuring that increased responsibilities and skills are rewarded and that we don't have to choose between our union rights and benefits and promotions.

• Increased job security and safe staffing, so that we can continue doing this work for the rest of our careers here at UC.

Our fight for better contracts will mean that we can do so much more, while having more time to enjoy other things in our lives.

As you've likely already heard from UC, it is Open Enrollment season again. Unfortunately, UC has not publicly posted the union rates for healthcare plan premiums - perhaps because they don't want their non-represented employees to know the value of a union!

UPTE members won a $25 annual cap on monthly premium increases for Health Net Blue & Gold and Kaiser plans for the duration of our HX, RX, and TX contracts. In 2024, the cap will mean up to $225 monthly savings for those on a Kaiser family plan, compared to non-union employees - more than a full 1% of salary in savings for many of us.

UC Davis employee costs for the UC Blue & Gold Health Insurance plan will have the same cost as the non-UPTE Kaiser Permanente plan for 2024, similar to 2022 and 2023.

UC's higher premium increases on non-represented employees highlights the importance of maintaining a strong and active union. Read more to find tables showing how much UPTE-represented workers save every month on their health insurance premiums compared to our nonunion counterparts at UC.

An election was held via mail ballot from October 25 - November 18, managed by MK Elections. Ballots were mailed on October 25 and the results were tabulated the morning of November 18, 2023. We certify that the ballot tally was fairly and accurately conducted, the secrecy of the ballots was maintained, and that the election results are as indicated as below:

• President:

  • Dan Russell (Elected)

  • Elizabeth Milos

• Chapter Chair, UC Irvine:

  • Stephen Lee (Elected)

  • Jonathan Elder

• Executive Board Member, UC Irvine:

  • Sarah Pinka Majchrowski (Elected)

  • Enrique Trinidad

• Chapter Chair, Lawrence Livermore National Lab:

  • Matthew Epperley (Elected)

  • Jason D. Murray

• Executive Board Members, UC Davis:

  • Eugene Burbige (Elected)

  • Jamie McDole (Elected)

  • Jacob Bernhardt

Number of ballots received and counted: 1050

Absent a challenge to the election, the tentative result shall become final after 10 days from the date of tentative certification. Keep reading to learn more.

On any given day, audiologists perform a wide range of work to help diagnose and treat hearing-related issues. Over time, audiologists at UC San Diego could see that low pay and high turnover rates were impacting the quality of care they could provide.

Audiologists had undeniable evidence that their compensation fell below market rates, but having facts on our side often isn't enough—they also had to show management that they were prepared to stand together until this issue was addressed. The audiologists submitted their research and proposal together as a union and ultimately, they emerged victorious, securing a 17% raise across the board.

"This increase is a clear victory for everyone. It addresses the critical issue of attracting and retaining qualified candidates, which management admits has been a pressing concern. It will make it easier to hire and keep talented audiologists, translating into better service for patients. And of course, it will make it easier for audiologists to stay at UC while also making ends meet here in San Diego," said Charles Ruby, a UCSD Audiologist.

For years, UCSF Campus social workers have been chronically underpaid compared to their counterparts at UCSF Health, despite doing similar work. Their clients are among San Francisco's most vulnerable residents, and inadequate compensation for these social workers only deepens the disparities in the services that these clients receive.

For years, workers were told that raises weren't possible. On July 20, over 30 campus social workers delivered a petition with 100+ signatures to the chair of the psychiatry department, who oversees most of these positions. On August 28, we got word that we had won the increases we've been fighting for, and Clinical Social Worker 1, 2, and 3 classifications within the Department of Psychiatry will all be moved up 7 steps on the wage scale, which amounts to a 14-15% wage increase for most people.

"For me, this fight for pay equity comes from a deep love for my work, my colleagues, and our clients. Equitable pay is crucial to keeping dedicated and skillful clinicians in the job so that our clients can receive consistent support from the social workers they have grown to trust and connect with," said Brenna Alexander, a Clinical Social Worker II at UCSF. "Just as our clients deserve high quality, compassionate care, campus clinicians deserve pay that allows us to stay present in this city and engaged with the most vulnerable folks in our community."

When UCLA announced its "Reimagine IT" program, everyone was told they would need to reapply for their old jobs and they ominously pushed employees to accept 'severance payments' to resign their positions. Unionized IT workers immediately jumped into action.

Under UPTE's TX agreement, UCLA cannot impose changes to the working conditions of UPTE workers (such as a requirement to reapply for a job you already have) without giving the union notice and bargaining over those changes and their effects on employees. 

"When the announcement was made, there was a lot of fear from our members in ITS. It has been great to see our ability to show management that they can't just do what they want," said Max Belasco, UCLA IT worker. "That is the power we can exert when IT workers are communicating with each other, standing up for one another, and having our coworkers' backs. Unfortunately, our nonunion colleagues lack those protections and rights, making them subject to whatever unilateral decisions UCLA makes."

UPTE members are now using their rights to demand a seat at the table on how UCLA plans to 'Reimagine IT' and our jobs. 

Lalaine Rojo has spent the last ten years working at UCSF, where she is a Lab Assistant II working in the Anatomy Department. Lalaine's family immigrated to the United State from the Philippines, where she had worked previously as a company nurse at a bank. Lalaine had never been in a union before coming to UC. "In previous jobs, I saw firsthand how workplaces could be unfair or discriminatory, especially to immigrants. That experience really opened my eyes to how much of a risk it can be to try and advocate for yourself as an individual without union protections."

Given Lalaine's Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the role she has played as a caretaker for ill family members, it's no surprise that her motivation for being a leader in our union is focused on others. "Being in a union is about being there for each other. We are the union, as members, and we have to help one another. If we want to make our corner of the world a better place, it can be done. It may not always feel possible, but when you get together with others and work towards a common goal, we can win. It's always easy to find excuses not to do something, but at the end of the day you have to decide what's important to you and what you want to fight for."

Lalaine finished by reminding us that as union members, "Our biggest responsibility is to leave UCSF better than it was when we started, and to train the next generation of union leaders who will come after us and continue the fight to have a dignified standard of living."