CALIFORNIA-”A strike conducted by the UC Hospital employees was avoided when the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 3299 managed to discourage the five-day strike by placing a tentative four-year agreement.
The cause for the strike had been building for the past two years, in a press release posted on the AFSCME 3299 website on March 23, workers from the outraged UC Hospitals were asked to participate in a vote that would occur on the days designated for the strike to occur.
On March 25, AFSCME 3299 posted on their Facebook page that the strike was officially called off, and on March 26, they posted their successful negotiations with the Patient Care Technical (PCT) workers. The majority of the negotiations took place in Oakland, California; the local 3299 represented the UC service workers during their negotiations with the University.
Kathryn Lybarger, President of AFSCME 3299 stated in the press release, that the University showed the desire to seek a compromise with the PCT workers, and vice versa. Lybarger said, “[this behavior] improves safety in UC Hospitals, and honors the important contributions that Patient Care Technical Workers make to the UC Health system every day. Our members are looking forward to ratifying this agreement, returning to work, and doing what they do best_caring for patients.”
