On Friday morning, AFSCME Local Union 3299 bargaining team members called for an organized strike of the approximately 20,000 UC patient care, technical and service employees.
The two-day strike will occur June 4 and 5 unless progress is made in the bargaining process concerning worker wages. Union members across the state approved a measure to give the bargaining team the right to strike after a week-long vote.
The union is calling for higher wages, citing that workers in similar positions at other hospitals and community colleges earn nearly 25 percent more than UC workers.
However, the UC believes it has already been fair by offering wage increases of between 6 and 14 percent in the first year after the implementation of a contract.
Both parties have said they are hoping to continue the bargaining process and reach an agreement.
The planned strike would affect both hospital operation and campus services. The absence of patient care and service employees would require the university to implement contingency plans, such as altering delivery and maintenance schedules, reducing dining hall menus, and altering the schedules of services such as shuttle bus transportation and custodial work.