University of California Strike Avoided in Last Minute Deal (1)

A union representing healthcare and service workers at the University of California reached a tentative agreement with the school just hours before more than 40,000 members were set to walk off the job.

AFSCME Local 3299 said Thursday that the parties have agreed to a deal securing pay increases and healthcare premium caps. Under the agreement, the minimum wage will increase from $25 per hour in 2025 to $30.10 per hour in 2029.

If ratified, the labor pact would be the union’s first since its previous contract expired in 2024. Local 3299 represents roughly 30,000 healthcare workers and several thousand custodians, groundskeepers, and food service employees across the University of California system.

Healthcare workers across the country have been pushing for better staffing and higher wages. About 46,000 nurses and other healthcare workers walked off the job in California, New York and Hawaii earlier this year over similar concerns.

AFSCME was preparing for an open-ended unfair labor practice strike starting May 14. The union alleged that the school had illegally implemented a healthcare plan without bargaining, and refused to negotiate over housing benefits.

“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,” AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant said in a statement.

“Tonight we have reached a tentative agreement with the University that makes historic progress and delivers long-overdue security to the frontline service and patient care professionals who make UC run,” he said.

The deal includes a $1,500 lump sum payment for non-probationary career workers and a $1,000 longevity payment in July after 20-years of experience. The agreement also adds some layoff protections and respiratory therapist ratios to maintain adequate staffing levels, the union said.

Union members will vote on the agreement from May 19 to May 21. If approved, the deal would run through November 2029.

A University of California spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.