After 21 months of negotiations, a state-mandated mediation process and the implementation of wage increases by the University of California (UC), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 workers continue to strike and work without a contract.
The dispute has lasted for nearly two years due to disagreement over wages, housing and healthcare.
Representing 37,000 UC workers, Local 3299 carried out a systemwide strike on Nov. 17 and 18, the latest in a series of strikes since late 2024.
“We deserve a fair contract and unfortunately UC is refusing to give us that,” Daisy Hernandez, a union spokesperson and custodian, told New University during the strike on Nov. 17. “We are ready to show [the] UC that we are done playing and we deserve this contract.”
Union workers set up picket lines at 18 UC campuses and medical centers statewide. At UCI, striking workers and their supporters rallied at the UCI Medical Center in Orange and outside Aldrich Hall on campus. More than 200 workers and supporters carried signs, banners and noisemakers, marching on Ring Road and chanting demands for a fair contract, higher wages and housing.
The contracts for more than 25,000 patient care technical workers expired in July 2024, and the contracts for over 11,000 service workers expired in October 2024. Negotiations for new contracts have been ongoing since January 2024.
In its most recent bargaining update, key demands from AFSCME Local 3299 include a 5% immediate wage increase, a $25 minimum wage retroactive to 2023, wage increases for the next three years starting at 8.5% in 2026, and 7.5% increases in 2027 and 2028. Additional demands include a freeze on health care premium costs and an affordable housing fund. Inflation, housing and rising costs are the main concerns among members of the union.
“I believe with the cost of living and the way our country’s heading, we need better salaries,” Teresa O., a health care worker of 11 years at UCI who requested a partial name for privacy, told New University during the Nov. 17 strike. “Health insurance is rising as well and some folks here don’t have housing, they live in their cars or they commute miles and miles to get to work.”
The consumer price index (CPI) for the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine area has risen 3.5% in the last 12 months, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The metric calculates the average change over time in the prices for most goods and services for urban regions.
The nationwide CPI has also risen around 25% since 2020, the start time of the previous patient care and service worker contracts. This means that $1 in January 2020 has the same purchasing power as $1.26 in September 2025.
“Everything’s going up. Gas, groceries, you name it, it’s going up.” Teresa O. said. “Healthcare is important. Insurance. I’m the one in my household that carries it.”
AFSCME Local 3299 declared an impasse in July 2024, stating that “UC chose to invest in executives rather than frontline workers.” When a union declares an impasse, state law mandates that the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) needs to facilitate mediation between the union and the employer and commission a factfinding panel if mediation fails.
This three-person panel consists of a neutral chairperson, a union appointee and an employer appointee, aiming to recommend changes that satisfy both parties. Final factfinding panel reports for patient care workers and service workers, released in February 2025, favored a majority of UC proposals. Disagreements that led to a deadlock include affordable housing measures, wage increases, and healthcare costs.
When contacted by New University, UCI communications and a UC Office of the President spokesperson directed initial inquiries towards its Nov. 14th statement and factsheet on negotiations, stating that it “deeply values the vital contributions of our AFSCME-represented employees, who provide essential services across our hospitals, campuses, and communities.”
Following the release of the factfinding report and another unsuccessful bargaining meeting in April 2025, UC proposed its “last, best and final offer” (LBFO), which included wage increases of 5% across the board starting in 2025 and a minimum wage of $25 for AFSCME members.
AFSCME Local 3299 rejected the proposal, calling it a “lowball, insulting offer.”
In June 2025, UC implemented some elements of the LBFO, increasing wages to $25 for union members and implementing health care credits.
Workers and supporters of the union say that the changes are not enough, especially after a 21-month-long bargaining period, a rise in UC tuition, and UC administrators now receiving wage increases and university-paid housing.
The union states that due to inflation, workers’ “real wages” have actually declined. “Our wages have decreased by 7%. Meanwhile, top management’s [wages] have increased by 52%.” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said that the offer does not address the union’s housing concerns. “It’s extremely expensive for us and we live paycheck after paycheck… [we’d like to] receive the same benefits that the executives receive.”
University Professional and Technical Employees CWA Local 9119 (UPTE CWA 9119) and the California Nurses Association (CNA) were initially slated to strike at the same time. After reaching tentative agreements with UC on Nov. 8 and Nov. 16, respectively, they cancelled their strike plans.
Irvine City Councilmember Kathleen Treseder spoke to New University at the picket line before addressing workers on Nov. 17.
“I’m a professor at UCI, and I live in a house on campus that I could afford because UC set this up. I’m lucky. I wish that our other workers had a situation like that because I wouldn’t be able to afford to live off campus. And I can’t imagine that all these workers can either,” Treseder told New University. “They have very reasonable asks about affordable housing and wages and benefits… so I’m calling on the UCI administration to please support our workers.”
Several students rallied and marched with AFSCME Local 3299 on Nov. 17.
“I was a past dining hall worker, so a lot of these staff I do recognize, so you want to show support,” second-year psychology student Naima Gonzalez told New University. “I think that it’s sort of frustrating how [negotiations have] been going on for so long… They have to continue and continue fighting when UCI, or all UCs, are not giving them what they deserve.”
Anna Zhang, a fourth-year environmental science and policy and urban studies double major, says UC workers should be listened to and appreciated.
“Be grateful to the full-time workers. They keep our campus alive, they keep our campus running,” Zhang, a current dining hall employee, told New University.
“They’re human. Remember they’re human when you see them. Say hello, say good morning, good afternoon. Just say thank you. Be respectful when you’re there,” Gonzalez added.
Hugo Lai is a News Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. He can be reached at hlai7@uci.edu.
Edited by Joshua Gonzales