UC braces for 1-day workers’ walkout

Disruptions expected from union’s protest over negotiating tactics

Thousands of workers at University of California campuses and hospitals across the state intend to walk off the job for one day Tuesday — potentially disrupting medical appointments, scheduling and classes — to protest UC’s negotiating tactics in a dispute over wages.

UC has 10 campuses, five medical centers and three national laboratories where about 12,000 clerical and administrative support workers are represented by Teamsters Local 2010. An additional 800 trade workers — plumbers, electricians and mechanics — at UCLA and UC San Diego have been striking since Friday.

Those planning to walk out Tuesday include people who schedule medical appointments, check in patients and send out bills, among

other duties. Campuses without hospitals would also be affected as research assistants, library assistants and financial aid workers walk off, although not every campus is back in session.

At UCSF Medical Center, “we expect business to be operating as usual,” said spokeswoman Kristen Bole. She said nonstriking employees would fill in for absent workers.

“The Teamsters have assured us that they will not obstruct any entrances and will not use bullhorns or drums, so as not to disturb patients,” Bole said.

At UC Berkeley, students are on break until Jan. 17.

The goal of the strike is to “get the university’s attention that we do matter. We want the university to treat us fairly,” said Marcia Thompson, 46, who schedules new patients in neurology at UCSF.

UC and the Teamsters have been negotiating over wages since April, and contracts covering the employees expired Nov. 30.

Union leaders say their planned strike isn’t about wages, an action that would be illegal while labor negotiations are continuing. Protesting UC’s negotiating tactics, however, “is completely legal,” said Christian Castro, a Teamsters spokesman.

He said UC’s unfair labor practices include excessive foot-dragging on contract proposals and sending misleading messages intended to make workers afraid to strike.

UC spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said in a statement that the university was offering clerical employees “market-competitive wage increases, good benefits and stability.” He did not address the university’s labor practices, however, and said that “under California law, while negotiations continue, a strike is presumed to be unlawful.”

Castro said such language — which is also included in frequent emails sent by UC to its staff members — intimidates workers.

“Our members are only seeing the ‘illegal’ part, and that’s scary to them,” Castro said. “Now some of the members are mad at the union because they feel we’re pushing them to do something illegal.”

Meanwhile, he said, UC went several months without offering a wage proposal until the union said in early December that it would walk out in protest.

A new offer was presented within days, Castro said.