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Black History Month 2025

AFSCME Local 3299, nurses picket to demand higher wages, better working conditions

Union members rallied Wednesday morning outside Bruin Plate to demand housing support and increased wages ahead of contract negotiations with the UC. (Aidan Sun/Assistant Photo editor)

By Sam Mulick

Oct. 9, 2024 1:42 p.m.

This post was updated Oct. 11 at 12:40 a.m.

Union members and nurses rallied Wednesday morning to demand housing support and increased wages ahead of contract negotiations with the UC. 

The protesters were led by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, which represents patient care and service workers at the university, and were joined by the California Nurses Association, which represents registered nurses. The protesters began rallying at 6:30 a.m., said Jacob Niles Creer, a member of the executive board and bargaining team of AFSCME 3299.

Around 50 people rallied outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, chanting, “UC greed has got to go” and, “This is what solidarity looks like.” The current contract for AFSCME 3299 employees is effective through Oct. 31. In a statement published to the UC website Aug. 31, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President said contract negotiations with the union ended following their cancellation by the California Public Employment Relations Board on Aug. 29 and will now move on to the impasse process, in which the board appoints a third party to chair a three-person fact-finding panel mandated by the board.

Creer said AFSCME 3299-affiliated hospital staffers are experiencing unprecedented housing insecurities and long travel times because of low wages.

“I worked a 100-mile round trip to come here every single day, and that takes a toll on my mental health,” he said. “So we’re fighting for housing – housing benefits that are currently given to the executives at the UC system that we are able to receive.”

Creer, who is also a clinical equipment specialist at the medical center, added that current working conditions for hospital staff have contributed to poor staff retention. Staff shortages are negatively affecting patient care at the medical center on a day-to-day basis, he said.

Neil Rudis, a float pool nurse at the hospital and a shop steward of the California Nurses Association, said nurses came to stand in solidarity with members of AFSCME 3299.

“They have been just crushed by inflation over the last years, as everyone has, and with that, UCLA wasn’t even offering wages that met inflation,” he said. “The reason the nurses came out is because we know that as workers, we are all fighting against the same system – the system that’s oppressing them is the same system that’s oppressing us and our patients.”

Rudis added that the university has told nurses that they are replaceable and willing to spend $1.3 million to retrain new nurses but has not committed to improving conditions to retain current nurses. 

At 11:37 a.m., around 10 people, including dining hall staff, also rallied outside Bruin Plate to demand a better contract. AFSCME 3299 members chanted, “No contract, no peace,” outside the dining hall, which was operating as usual.

Creer added that the union is calling for the UC to divest from Blackstone because it believes the company drives up housing prices by purchasing affordable housing. A protester also held a sign outside of Bruin Plate that read, “Divest from Blackstone. Invest in community.” 

The rally was shared on an Instagram post from the UCLA chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, the Student Labor Advocacy Project, Young Democratic Socialists of America and the West Los Angeles chapter of the Philippines – U.S. Solidarity Organization.

In an emailed statement, a UCLA spokesperson said university officials found possible violations of UCLA’s Time, Place and Manner policies committed during AFSCME demonstrations Wednesday but had not verified the potential violations.

“When a policy violation occurs, UCLA personnel determine the best way to respond — whether in the moment, after the fact, or both,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “We are assessing today’s potential violations and will take appropriate action if they are verified.”

In a written statement, a UCOP spokesperson said the UC maintains a positive outlook on AFSCME 3299 and has been negotiating with them to meet their demands.

Since January, we have been bargaining in good faith with the union, presenting meaningful proposals to directly address the union’s requests, including wage increases that, if accepted, would increase AFSCME salaries by 26 percent over the life of the five-year contract,” the spokesperson said in the statement. 

This is an ongoing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Contributing reports by Shiv Patel and Dylan Winward, Daily Bruin staff.

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Sam Mulick | Features and student life editor
Mulick is the 2024-2025 features and student life editor and a PRIME senior staff writer. He was previously a News reporter. Mulick is a fourth-year sociology student from northern New Jersey.
Mulick is the 2024-2025 features and student life editor and a PRIME senior staff writer. He was previously a News reporter. Mulick is a fourth-year sociology student from northern New Jersey.
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