AFSCME Local 3299 represents tens of thousands of employees at UC hospitals. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, members of the California Nurses Association, which is also in collective bargaining with the University of California system, will join AFSCME members.
AFSCME and UC officials were bargaining last week, but the union rejected every contract proposal offered by the university. “We have done everything we can to end the cycle of conflict and dysfunction. Despite our efforts, there has been no reciprocation on AFSCME’s part [and] we are still far from an agreement,” Dwaine Duckett, UC vice president for human resources and programs, told the Sacramento Business Journal.
The union is concerned about unsafe staffing levels at UC hospitals, while university officials say the union is trying to put off changes to pensions already agreed to by other unions.
This is not the first time AFSCME members have called for a strike: Unionized employees went on strike May 21 to 22.
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