Thousands of workers struck against the UC on Wednesday and Thursday.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers Local 3299 – which represents patient care, service and skilled craft workers – voted to authorize a strike with 99% support after alleging that the University bargained in bad faith during contract negotiations. The union’s two-day strike led to closures of certain services, including some dining facilities, across campus.

“Time after time, we sit down with the UC, and they come to the table with no intention of resolving any of our issues, which are fair wages, housing, job security and affordable health care,” said Davina Woods, a UCLA custodian and member of the union’s bargaining team. “That’s not fair.”

[Related: AFSCME Local 3299 to strike against the UC on Nov. 20 and 21]

The union picketed across the two days, with service workers regularly marching throughout campus with green signs that read “AFSCME 3299 ON STRIKE.” On both days, picketers marched through Kerckhoff Hall and Ackerman Union with cowbells and megaphones, chanting phrases including, “UC, UC, you’re no good, treat your workers like you should,” and “Who’s got the power? We’ve got the power.”

The lack of service workers led to long lines and the closure of dining halls on the Hill. De Neve Residential Restaurant, Feast at Rieber and Epicuria at Covel remained open, though they had limited hours and only offered takeout containers.

These dining halls saw lines of around 80 people at a time as workers tried to keep up with student demand. Angela Vargas, a second-year cognitive science and economics student, said the long wait times impacted her daily routine.

“I spent 40 minutes waiting in line for something I usually would have waited five minutes for,” Vargas said.

[Related: Dining halls consolidate, limit hours as nearly 40K UC workers prepare to strike]

Isabella Marasco, a third-year political science student, said the union should strike if the UC is not treating its workers fairly. She added that she has always had positive experiences with dining hall staff and feels they excel at their jobs.

The Student Labor Advocacy Project at UCLA also held a walkout in solidarity with the union Thursday morning, which began in Dickson Court North – an area where public expression activities are not allowed under new university Time, Place and Manner policies. Protesters also walked through Bunche Hall, Boelter Hall and the Mathematical Sciences Building, chanting, “The workers united will never be defeated.”

Speakers at the rally also called for the UC to divest from Blackstone, saying the private equity firm is responsible for what they alleged is a global housing crisis.

“Is there anyone here who cannot afford your rent?” said Hannah Appel, an associate professor of anthropology. “Blame the UC.”

Members of the union’s patient care unit – whose contract expired July 31 – also picketed at their respective workplaces, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. Around 200 people picketed at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Wednesday morning.

Jacob Niles Creer, a clinical equipment specialist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, said he and his colleagues walked out of work to protest the UC “breaking the law” by unilaterally increasing health care rates. The union alleged that the University raised these premiums without consulting workers and while its patient care workers’ contract had already expired – a period when an employer must retain the status quo.

Creer added that the UC has failed to meet the union’s demands during bargaining, leaving workers fighting to make ends meet.

“Right now, they (the UC) can finally see all the pain that we are constantly going through every single day,” he said. “We are going through two-hour commutes like myself. We’re going through members sleeping in their cars. We’re going through some of the worst conditions that we’ve ever faced.”

Betty Yee, who was the California state controller up until 2023 and a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, said in a speech that she came to the picket to show solidarity with the union‘s patient care workers.

“California is going to continue to be sick unless we uplift all our health care workers,” she said in the speech. “Let’s get UC to finally come to the table in good faith.”

Around 150 workers from AFSCME Local 3299 also rallied at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center on Wednesday, picketing with cowbells and sirens from megaphones.

Minerva Aquino, a clinical care partner at the Santa Monica medical center, said this is her fourth time participating in a strike against the UC. She added that UCLA has struggled to retain workers because other hospitals offer more competitive wages.

“Before they used to stay at UCLA, UCLA was their main priority,” she said. “Now, they just come, get experience and leave, because they paid them more in other places.”

Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees – Communication Workers of America 9119, which represents research and technical workers, also rallied with AFSCME Local 3299 in Santa Monica. UPTE-CWA 9119 also struck Wednesday and Thursday at UC San Francisco, alleging unfair bargaining on behalf of the UC.

[Related: UPTE-CWA 9119 to vote on strike Oct. 21 after ‘insufficient’ UC bargaining]

Marasco said the inconveniences that the strike caused helped her recognize the work that the union does every day.

“So much of what these workers do for our university is invisible work,” Marasco said. “They take care of things behind the scenes, and it allows us to have everything run smoothly and allows us to have a really positive experience going here at UCLA.”

Contributing reports by Savan Bollu, Reese Dahlgren, Anna Dai-Liu, Jane Garcia, Gabrielle Gillette, Alisha Hassanali, Felicia Keller, Maggie Konecky, Leilani Krantz, Evelin Zaragoza Mesa, Natalia Mochernak, Alexis Muchnik, Josephine Murphy, Shiv Patel, Shaun Thomas, Prannay Veerabahu, Amanda Velasco, Lilly Wellons, Dylan Winward and Patrick Woodham, Daily Bruin staff.