AFSCME 3299 announces open-ended strike starting May 14
The union, citing unfair labor practices, plans to go on strike indefinitely until UC meets its demands
By KHADEEJAH KHAN — campus@theaggie.org
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 will be holding an open-ended strike across the University of California (UC) system over unfair labor practices relating to housing and healthcare benefits.
AFSCME represents over 40,000 service workers, patient care technical workers and skilled craft workers across the UC’s 10 campuses. The union has been negotiating with the UC since January 2024, after their patient care and service contracts expired in July and October of that year. Since then, AFSCME has filed two unfair labor practice (ULP) complaints with California’s Public Employment Relations Board.
The first charge alleges that UC’s lack of notice and failure to bargain over their March 2025 hiring freeze violates state law and legal precedent. The second followed the UC’s decision to deny employee benefits to workers absorbed by UC’s acquisition of six Southern California hospitals.
“Those imposed terms really leave our members in worse economic shape than they were eight, 10 years ago,” Todd Stenhouse, AFSCME’s statewide spokesperson, said. “Imagine, you work hard, you try to support your family, you build a career, and eight years later, you're worse off than you were when you started on the first day of the job. Not a lot of people would continue to work out of [a] place like that.”
In a press release, the UC said it has offered a total wage growth of 32.3% through 2029, a $1,000 bonus for each career AFSCME-represented employee and proposed caps of 7.5% and 5% for Kaiser and Blue and Gold medical plans.
“These are concrete steps designed to provide both immediate financial support and long-term growth, while giving employees flexibility to address their individual needs,” the press release reads.
AFSCME 3299 went on strike four times in the 2024-25 academic year, most recently from Nov. 17–18, 2025, during fall quarter. Compared to previous strikes, this open-ended strike is indefinite and will end only if the university meets the union’s demands.
According to Stenhouse, AFSCME’s upcoming strike will be the first open-ended strike in the history of the UC health system and the first open-ended strike in the UC system at large over ULPs.
“It is an entirely preventable situation, but preventable by UC,” Stenhouse said. “Preventable by UC following the walk. Preventable by UC, which is in the greatest and strongest financial position at any time in its 150-year history, treating its lowest paid front line workers who are overwhelmingly women and people of color, with a modicum of respect, so that they are not put in a position of being worse off tomorrow than they were 10 years ago.”
The UC aims to continue bargaining to reach a contract, according to their press release.
“We believe continued good-faith bargaining is the most constructive path to resolving remaining issues,” the press release reads. “We remain committed to reaching an agreement as quickly as possible so these valued employees can begin receiving these benefits.”
As the strike approaches, the union will release picket locations and timings on their website. In the past, they have held picket lines at Hutchison Field on the UC Davis campus and at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
“When you're talking about a healthcare environment, as in the case of UC, or even a campus environment, continuity matters,” Stenhouse said. “Our members didn't get into this line of work because they expected that they were going to own a yacht — they got into this line of work because they were going to serve the public.”
Written by: Khadeejah Khan — campus@theaggie.org