80,000+ CA Healthcare Workers Plan Largest Strike in UC History as Staffing Crisis Deepens

Healthcare, research, and technical professionals across the University of California system announced that they will launch a statewide strike on November 17 - 18, 2025, citing short-staffing in hospitals, laboratories, and classrooms, leading to longer wait times for patients and delays in critical medical research.

The workers, represented by University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE-CWA 9119), expect AFSCME 3299 and the California Nurses Association (CNA) to also engage in strikes, bringing the total number of UC workers participating in the work stoppage to over 80,000 employees. When the walkout happens, it will be the largest strike in the university’s history.

No agreement has been reached after sixteen months of negotiations and three weeks of mediation with the UC’s Office of the President.

In a press release today a Union spokesperson wrote: “At every stage, UC has refused to take seriously the union’s proposals to address the growing staffing crisis that threatens patient care, student services, and the research mission at the heart of the UC system. Meanwhile, UC’s misplaced priorities have led the University to continue prioritizing the acquisition snd construction of new buildings and increasing executive pay while laying off frontline workers—all while refusing interventions to avoid needless staff turnover and maintain safe staffing levels across the UC.”

Matt Stephen, a Senior Physician Assistant at UCSF and member of UPTE-CWA 9119 said, “Every day in the UCSF ER, patients are waiting hours for care. Our wait times are now much longer than other comparable hospitals, and we simply don’t have enough staff to treat patients safely. Patient delays should not be the standard at one of the world’s leading medical centers. Yet we’re so short-staffed that we don’t even have enough service workers to stock ER supply cabinets, meaning your frontline providers are spending time hunting for supplies and equipment instead of being at your bedside,” Stephen, continued, “It’s frustrating to see UC pouring money into buying new buildings while telling the public they can’t afford more staff for the hospitals they already have. We’ve been sounding the alarm for over a year—how long until UC takes our concerns seriously?”

UPTE members describe widespread short-staffing that has left hospitals, laboratories, and classrooms stretched to their limits. In UC’s medical centers, workers report longer wait times for patients as departments struggle to remain fully staffed. In research labs, critical projects have been delayed or halted due to turnover and unfilled positions. On campuses, students are losing access to essential support services.

“Students with crises are seeking care in higher numbers than ever before and students wanting to start routine care are having to wait weeks, if not months, just to meet with a mental health clinician. This is all happening while UC keeps growing enrollment without increasing the staff to meet their needs,” said Michael McGlenn, a Counseling Psychologist at UC San Diego. “Students should not have to struggle simply because we don’t have enough clinicians to provide timely care. UC’s ongoing refusal to invest in the people who make this system work is undercutting its own mission to support students and their success.”

“This fight is about the future of UC’s patients, students, and research,” said Dan Russell, UPTE President & Chief Negotiator and a Business Technical Support Analyst at UC Berkeley. “For more than a year, multiple unions across UC have been raising the alarm about unsafe staffing, overwork, and critical gaps in care and services. The fact that these warnings are being ignored proves there is a real crisis, and UC’s inaction is unacceptable. Our members will do whatever is necessary to hold UC accountable to its mission of providing world-class healthcare, research, and education for all Californians.”

UPTE is calling on the University of California to partner with frontline workers to solve the staffing crisis by investing in retention, fair pay, and safe working conditions.