About 50 workers gathered at Hutchison Field as part of a systemwide strike, the third of its kind this academic year
By KHADEEJAH KHAN — campus@theaggie.org
Some 50 workers at UC Davis went on a one-day strike on Tuesday, April 1 over the University of California’s alleged unfair labor practices, cost of living issues and staffing shortages.
The demonstration was part of a systemwide strike across the UC system, including 10 campuses and five medical centers. The workers are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 (AFSCME 3299) and the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 9119 (UPTE-CWA), representing some combined 50,000 service and healthcare workers across the system.
While UPTE-CWA was first to announce their strike, AFSCME-3299 executive board member James Clark believed it was vital for AFSCME-3299 to hold a solidarity strike due to shared struggles with bad-faith bargaining, staffing shortages and rising healthcare co-pays.
“We’re standing in solidarity with UPTE today and anytime they have a need for our assistance,” Clark said. “We’re the frontline workers — we make it happen.”
In a statement, the UC claimed to have offered “generous wage increases” and other favorable proposals in bargaining with the two unions.
“UPTE and AFSCME are not being forthright in their characterizations, which is upsetting since we’ve made sincere efforts to find mutually beneficial solutions,” the statement reads. “Regardless, we are hopeful AFSCME and UPTE will make meaningful efforts to settle these contracts soon.”
For Gina Hernandez, a cook at UC Davis’ dining halls, this strike’s impact extends beyond the demands of UC staff. She believes that going on strike is an investment into students’ futures, uplifting frontline workers who take care of students on a day-to-day basis.
“We just want UC Davis to take care of us so that we can take care of them,” Hernandez said. “We want UC Davis to see us as humans, not just a bunch of workers or a bunch of equipment that they own. The workers are raising the next future.”
AFSCME 3299’s picket line in solidarity with UPTE-CWA began at 6 a.m. on Hutchison Field, where strikers shared coffee and bagels in preparation for a demonstration. Cars at the intersection honked to express solidarity with the workers.
Strikers chanted, “UC, UC you’re no good, treat your workers like you should,” and “UC, UC you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side.”
AFSCME and UPTE had previously held joint strikes in February of this year and in November 2024 over similar concerns. Turnout at this most recent UC Davis demonstration was lower, and union members did not hold a march throughout campus as they had done in past strikes.
Clark, who works at UC San Francisco and commutes around 50 miles for his job, criticized UC administrators for not addressing the housing and staffing issues he believes to be at the core of worker’s problems.
“We got people commuting over an hour or an hour and a half, and they are making pennies,” Clark said. “We’re overworked, understaffed and doing more for the same pay, and we won’t stand for it. It won’t change until the UC invests in things that make them flourish, like enough front line workers to get the job done right.”
In a statement to The California Aggie, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President denied claims of a staffing shortage.
“Data that we’ve already shared with the union shows that the number of UPTE-represented headcount is increasing, separations are declining, and turnover is flattening,” the spokesperson said. “For AFSCME, headcount is also increasing, turnover is decreasing, and separations are flattening.”
“Since the last strike on Feb. 26-28, UC has continuously communicated with AFSCME and UPTE to try to close these contracts,” the spokesperson said. “UPTE and UC are progressing through the impasse process, with fact-finding sessions completed last week and a recommendations report coming soon. AFSCME and UC are continuing to communicate and are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the next steps.”
Workers also demonstrated at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, though university officials said they did not expect any disruptions to patient care. At the main campus in Davis, some dining options and venues were closed or open with limited hours, however there were no disruptions to class instruction.
At the strike, student members of the Spartacus Youth Club distributed flyers and held signs to express solidarity with the unions, distributing fliers calling on their peers to “respect the picket line and shut down the campus.”
“We are now being targeted by the government and administration for protesting the genocide of Palestinians,” the flyer reads. “The way to defend our classmates is not by making moral appeals to the administration, but to build an alliance with workers who are striking against the admin. Although the unions’ demands are economic, the way to beat back repression will be by building winning pickets that no one crosses.”
By 2 p.m., the strike at Hutchison and La Rue Road had packed their gear away, and the demonstration had ended.
Written by: Khadeejah Khan — campus@theaggie.org
