University of California service care and health care workers are on a two-day strike after they filed charges with the State Public Employment Relations Board alleging that the UC system engaged in illegal bad faith bargaining.
University of California service care and health care workers are on a two-day strike in November 2024 after they filed charges with the State Public Employment Relations Board alleging that the UC system engaged in bad faith bargaining. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

Just before more than 42,000 custodial workers, groundskeepers and patient care workers were set to go on strike, the union AFSCME Local 3299 reached a tentative agreement with the University of California. 

Union workers have been without a contract for nearly three years as they advocated for better wages and health care benefits. The agreement stopped a statewide strike that was set to begin on Thursday.

“For nearly three years, the frontline workers that we represent have stood shoulder to shoulder, demanding the university take meaningful action to address the affordability crisis pricing them out of the communities where they work, and forcing impossible choices on their families,” said AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant. 

UC and AFSCME began contract negotiations in January 2024. After a nine-month pause, they restarted bargaining in January 2026, according to Heather Hansen, UC spokesperson.

While no details about the tentative agreement have been shared publicly, Avant said it’s the worker’s “largest wage increase ever” and the “most affordable healthcare rates at UC.”

“This process took persistence and involved great sacrifices by every single one of our members,” Avant 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 union authorized an open-ended strike in March after alleging that UC refused to bargain over housing aid for workers and health care rates. 

“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,” said Missy Matella, Associate Vice President for Systemwide Employee and Labor Relations for the University of California. “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.”

Union members will be voting on whether to ratify the agreement or not on May 19-21. 

— Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway can be reached at rcaraway@noozhawk.com.