Unions representing about 40,000 academic and research employees across the UC announced Monday that they plan to hold an authorization vote Feb. 5 to 13 for an unfair labor practice strike.

United Auto Workers Local 4811, Research and Public Service Professionals-UAW and Student Services and Academic Professionals-UAW announced the vote in a joint Instagram post. A website for the three unions said demands for their workers include job security, opportunities for career advancement and protections for international workers.

“It’s time to show UC management that their unlawful behavior won’t be tolerated, and that we’re each ready to take collective action to defend our university, our rights, and our future,” the unions said in the Instagram post.

The unions threatened to strike in late November when they held rallies at campuses across the UC to demand that the University pay its workers higher wages and implement protections for international students. 

[Related: UAW units rally, threaten strike for fair wage, job protections in new UC contract]

The unions alleged on their website homepage that the UC has committed unlawful interference, engaged in bad-faith bargaining and implemented unilateral changes to working conditions throughout negotiations.

The UC Office of the President did not respond in time to a request for comment on the strike vote.

UAW Local 4811 has held multiple rallies and protests across the UC since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term to push the University to counter federal policies, including federal research funding cuts and visa revocations for international students.

[Related: Trump administration revokes visas of multiple UCLA, UC students]

UAW Local 4811’s contracts for its academic student employees and graduate student researchers expired Jan. 1. SSAP-UAW and RPSP-UAW, who voted to unionize in November 2024 and September 2025, respectively, are both currently in negotiations for their first contract with the University.

UAW Local 4811’s predecessors – which merged to create the union – held the largest strike in U.S. higher education history in 2022, which lasted nearly six weeks and led to the cancellation of numerous classes. 

The union also struck in the spring of 2024 after filing multiple unfair labor practice charges against the UC, claiming the University failed its responsibility as an employer when it allowed law enforcement officers to use force against union members during the May 2, 2024 sweep of UCLA’s Palestine solidarity encampment.

[Related: United Auto Workers Local 4811 begins UCLA strike at Dickson Plaza]

“Management can agree to fair contracts for RPSPs, SSAPs, and ASEs, and join us in the fight to defend public higher education, or they can drag their feet and detract from our shared fight against Trump,” the website said. “It’s time for UC management to choose a side.”