June 26, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

U.C. Medical Center Labor Strike Averted, Tentative Agreement Reached

Labor Strike at UCLA-Santa Monica
A labor strike at UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center in November 2013. (Courtesy image)

A planned five-day labor strike planned for next week at University of California medical centers across the state appears to be put on hold, as service workers and the health system have reached a tentative agreement, it was announced Feb. 27.

Members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 must ratify the agreement. Once formally approved, the five-day labor strike – planned for March 3 through 7 – would officially be canceled.

The tentative four-year agreement would cover University of California health system’s 8,300 service workers, including those at Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center in Westwood and UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center in Santa Monica.

“It is good to have this bargaining wrapped up with a deal on its way to our valued service employees,” University of California vice president of human resources Dwaine B. Duckett stated. “We worked hard to bridge gaps on the issues. Ultimately both sides chose compromise over conflict.”

According to an email sent to the press by a representative of AFSCME Local 3299, terms of the deal includes a 13.5 percent wage increase – spread out over four years – for all service workers. Some service workers would be eligible for three two-percent wage increases, meaning the total bump in pay for those employees would be 19.5 percent over four years.

Other terms of the deal included affordable healthcare benefits for current employees and retirees as well as job security protections.

“After more than a year of good faith bargaining, we have finally reached a historic agreement with UC that will pull thousands of its full-time employees out of poverty and begin to rectify staffing practices that needlessly put our members and the people they serve at risk,” University of California Service Worker and AFSCME 3299 president Kathryn Lybarger stated. “While this proposed settlement includes compromise on both sides, it honors the contributions that career service workers make to this institution, as well as U.C.’s responsibility to build ladders to the middle class. Our members are deeply grateful to the thousands of students, faculty, colleagues, elected officials, and everyday taxpayers who have stood with us, and stood for the principles of fairness and dignity that bind every member of the U.C. community.”

According to AFSCME Local 3299, the four-year agreement only covers University of California service workers. The 13,000 patient care technical workers at the statewide health system who are represented by the labor union are still bargaining with University of California. Both sides are expected to return to the bargaining table Feb. 28.

“The Patient Care Unit has been engaged in good faith bargaining for more than 20 months—even longer than Service Workers—and like Service workers, has already given U.C. 80 percent of what it wants, including the university’s top priority of pension reform,” Lybarger added.

When plans for a five-day labor strike were announced Feb. 20, the AFSCME claimed the University of California. service workers it represents receive the lowest pay. The labor union estimated 99 percent of service workers at University of California medical and research centers “are income eligible for some form of public assistance, with some full time workers forced to live in their cars.”

AFSCME represents about 22,000 patient care and service employees. About 3,800 of those employees work for the UCLA Health System.

In a similar system-wide labor strike on Nov. 20, 2013, it was estimated the one-day walk out would cost the UCLA Health System $2.5 million, including lost revenue and compensation for replacement workers.

A two-day labor strike from May 21 to May 22 last year might have cost the UCLA system as much as $5 million in lost revenue and expenses, officials then estimated. The University of California claims the May 2013 and November 2013 labor strikes cost the entire health system more than $30 million to maintain critical patient care services.

According to University of California Health, service workers represented by AFSCME currently earn, on average, an annual salary of $37,000 plus benefits.

Service workers include food service, gardeners, janitors, and maintenance.

Related Posts

Santa Monica Police Arrest Shooting Suspect After Officer Ambushed Near Downtown Mall

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Man Linked to Waymo Vehicle Gunfire Taken Into Custody Following Tense Manhunt The suspect wanted in connection with a shooting...

Michelin Stars Shine Bright on LA: Somni West Hollywood and Providence Earn Top Honors

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Two Restaurants in Los Angeles Receive Three Stars as Michelin Guide Celebrates Bold Flavors The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 celebrated...

Cherished Culver City Ice Cream Vendor Abducted in Broad Daylight

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Ambrocio “Enrique” Lozano’s Disappearance Led To Grassroots Action Ambrocio Lozano, also known in the neighborhood as Enrique, was abducted around...

Culver City Leaders Address Youth Safety Crisis After Teen’s Death, Gunfire at Vigil

June 25, 2025

June 25, 2025

Leaders Respond Following Tragedy and Shooting at School Vigil Culver City officials convened a press conference Wednesday morning to confront...

Brentwood Home by Landry Design Group Wins Top National Architecture Award

June 25, 2025

June 25, 2025

Landry Design Group Wins Gold Nugget Awards for Brentwood, Crestwood Projects Landry Design Group (LDG) earned two top honors at...

(Video) WISE & Healthy Aging Helps Loved Ones Boost Their Quality of Life

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs Advance the Dignity of Life for Older Adults See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs...

Masked Federal Agents Detain Iranian Asylum Seeker and Wife in Westwood

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

31-Year-Old Woman was Hospitalized After Possible Medical Emergency On Tuesday, June 24, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., near the...

Culver City Pride Rolls In with Sunset Ride and Rally June 28

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Celebrate With a 6-Mile Pride Ride and Free Block Party Culver City will mark its fifth annual Pride celebration on...

Los Angeles Leaders Push to Ban Masks for Federal Agents Amid Immigration Raids

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Concerns Grow Over Anonymous ICE and CBP Officers in Los Angeles   A growing coalition of California lawmakers and local leaders...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

Overnight Traffic Stops in Culver City Lead to Felony Arrests, DUI Bust

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Culver City Police Nab Suspects Wanted for Burglary and Identity Theft Culver City police officers arrested three individuals in separate...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...