UCSB Workers Join UC-Wide Strike, Citing Unfair Bargaining Practices

Health-Care, Service, Research Employees Walk Out for Fair Wages and Better Benefits

Dozens of UC Santa Barbara employees joined union picket lines on April 1 as part of a larger UC-wide strike by health-care professionals, researchers, and service employees for affordable health care and the hiring of more staff. | Credit: Ella Heydenfeldt

Dozens of UC Santa Barbara employees joined the picket lines on April 1 as part of a larger University of California-wide strike, marking the third major labor action in four months. Nearly 60,000 UC workers, including health-care professionals, researchers, and service employees, are protesting alleged unfair bargaining practices by the university system.

The strike is led by UPTE-CWA 9119, a union representing UC Professional and Technical Employees, and is supported by AFSCME Local 3299, the largest UC worker union in what’s being called a “solidarity strike.” (AFSCME stands for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.)

“Unfortunately, UC has continued its pattern of unlawful behavior,” said Michael Benaron, a UPTE member and physician assistant at UCSB. “We need UC to get serious at the bargaining table about addressing the obstacles to quality health care, research, and education for patients and students.”

Tuesday’s walkout is the latest in a series of strikes to pressure the UC administration to meet worker demands for affordable health care and the hiring of more staff.

AFSCME previously walked out in November and joined another systemwide strike in February. UPTE has now filed multiple unfair labor practice (ULP) charges, accusing UC of bad faith bargaining, including the imposition of a “divide and conquer” strategy and claiming health-care cost increases on striking groups.

Union representatives claim these conditions exacerbate staff shortages and push workers into precarious housing situations. “[University of California is] forcing workers to sleep in their cars in order to maintain their employment because they cannot live anywhere near their jobs,” said Todd Stenhouse, an AFSCME spokesperson. “As a result, you are going to have a hell of a hard time recruiting people.”

At UCSB, striking workers gathered at Storke Tower early Tuesday morning, with rallies planned throughout the day. One was a 1 p.m. march toward the UCSB Humanities and Social Sciences Building, accompanied by a mariachi band. “When workers are outside, there’s something wrong on the inside,” they chanted, before rounding back to the Student Resource Building where the rally concluded at 2 p.m.

“The issues we are experiencing impact both students and workers alike,” Benaron said. “I work as a physician assistant in an on-campus clinic serving the entire student body here at UC Santa Barbara. We have to turn students away on a daily basis due to our understaffing. We can’t continue to wait for UC to stop dragging its heels while we see our students and patients paying the price for their misplaced priorities.”

In their claim that health-care is unaffordable, the striking UCSB workers asserted that Santa Barbara’s high cost of living further exacerbates financial difficulties and staff retention issues.

Leading the lines of marching strikers is Samuel Feinstein, a lab manager in the UCSB Department of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the campus bargaining team. “UC will not bargain over their pay scales and contract. They have unilaterally changed our health-care premiums and costs, which is illegal.”

On the other side of the bargaining table, UC disputes the unions’ claims, stating that both AFSCME and UPTE have misrepresented negotiations.

“We have met with AFSCME and UPTE for months to try to settle these contracts, offering generous wage increases, monthly credits to reduce health-care expenses for lower wage earners, expanded sick leave, and improved ability to schedule vacation time,” said Heather Hansen, a UC communications strategist. “We have tried to encourage contract closure to avert unnecessary disruptions.”

The striking marchers included a mariachi band at UCSB on Tuesday. | Credit: Ella Heydenfeldt

UC also disagrees that it has bargained in bad faith: “The University of California has regularly met with leadership from UPTE unions to negotiate new contracts in good faith,” the UC previously said in a written report regarding UPTE contract negotiations. “The University remains committed to reaching a fair agreement with these valued employees.”

The strike is scheduled to last one day, but with unresolved contract negotiations, future actions remain a possibility. AFSCME and UPTE leadership have emphasized that their fight for livable wages and fair working conditions is also a fight for the students they serve.

Workers argue that chronic understaffing and rising costs don’t just affect employees — they directly impact students. “We have to turn students away on a daily basis due to our understaffing,” said Benaron. “We can’t continue to wait for UC to stop dragging its heels while students and patients pay the price.”

Feinstein echoed this concern, emphasizing that staffing shortages undermine essential campus services. “We need more employees to better support students and improve health care, research, and campus infrastructure.”

Back at the strike, UCSB workers demanded that the university return to the bargaining table in good faith. Marching down the center of campus, strikers encouraged students to join them. “Stop by the picket line, on your coffee break, on your lunch break,” said Stenhouse on Tuesday. “Let these workers know that you have their back, because they certainly have yours.”