UC and AFSCME Reach Tentative Contract Deal; Strike Averted

The University of California and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union reached a tentative contract agreement early Thursday morning, shortly after a systemwide open-ended strike was scheduled to begin.

The tentative contract agreement, which will be ratified by its employees in the coming days, provides generous wage increases and includes health care caps and stipends, ratification bonuses, equity pools to address systemwide pay disparities and longevity bonuses.

Quote for attribution to Missy Matella, Associate Vice President for Systemwide Employee and Labor Relations for the University of California:

"We're glad to have reached an agreement with AFSCME that recognizes the important work these employees do every day across UC's campuses and health centers. This contract delivers meaningful pay increases and addresses some of the real affordability pressures our employees are facing, while allowing us to move forward together focused on UC's mission of patient care, teaching and research."

Key Figures/Facts

• AFSCME represents just under 40,000 patient care technical and service workers across the UC system, about two-thirds of whom work at UC's academic health centers at UCSF, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Davis and UC San Diego.
• UC and AFSCME began contract negotiations in January 2024. After a 9-month pause, the parties restarted bargaining in January 2026.

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