On Thursday morning, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 reached a tentative contract agreement with the University of California, canceling the indefinite strike that was set to begin several hours later. The union organized the strike after the UC failed to address its demands for improved wages and healthcare affordability.
AFSCME 3299 represents over 40,000 service workers, patient care technical workers, and skilled craft workers. The union spans across all 10 UC campuses, five medical centers, including UC San Diego Hillcrest, and clinics and research laboratories.
When announcing the strike, AFSCME 3299 disclosed that it filed two Unfair Labor Practice charges against the UC “over their unlawful imposition of healthcare increases and other unlawful terms” and “their refusal to bargain over our housing benefits.”
“After over two years of fighting UC and refusing to give up, our team reached a tentative agreement with UC, setting the highest standards at UC,” AFSCME 3299 wrote on its website. “Our campaign forced UC to invest in the long-term security of its frontline workers.”
Under the terms of the tentative agreement, union workers will receive a $1,500 lump sum for all nonprobationary career workers. Employees who have 20 years of working experience will also be given a one-time $1,000 longevity payment in July. The minimum wage will increase from $26.50 in April 2026 to $30.10 by April 2029, amounting to a 19% increase in base pay by 2029.
Union workers will also gain other employment benefits, including the right to negotiate increases in on-call pay and shift differentials at all UC campuses, capped health care premiums at 7.5% for Kaiser Permanente and 5% for UC Blue & Gold, and layoff protections that provide continued pay during emergencies.
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, AFSCME 3299 President Michael Avant said the agreement “means UC’s most vulnerable workers will no longer have to choose between paying for healthcare and paying for groceries.”
Avant also explained the impact that this agreement will have on the union members and their families.
“This process took persistence and involved great sacrifices by every single one of our members,” he said. “The tentative agreements we’ve reached ensure they will be better off and better able to keep pace with rising costs so they can build a better future for their families.”
The agreement also prohibits the UC from taking away seniority rights, expands rights to meal and rest periods, and improves development leave rights. The tentative contract also stops the usage of employees as “floaters” — individuals hired by the UC on a flexible basis, staffed between a multitude of departments based on demand — across different UC campuses and medical centers to cover staffing shortages.
Other benefits include an additional floating personal day, premium pay for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Dec. 24, expanded leave for victims and survivors of violence, and capped parking rate increases maintained at $10 per month or 10%.
“We’re glad to have reached an agreement with AFSCME that recognizes the important work these employees do every day across UC’s campuses and health centers,” Melissa Matella, associate vice president for Systemwide Employee and Labor Relations for the UC, said in a press release. “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.”
The official vote to ratify the agreement will take place from May 19 to May 21 at locations across UC campuses and associated institutions. If accepted, the agreement will last until Nov. 30, 2029.
