Dear Member,

What a year.

As I reflect back on it, I am awestruck by all that we – the members, staff, and community of Local 3299 – have managed to accomplish, and am deeply moved by what it says about who we are as a union.

We opened up the new year still fighting for a contract, but we never gave up on ourselves, we kept fighting, and won the best contracts yet. But before we could celebrate, we got hit with the COVID-19 Pandemic, record historic wildfires, a looming recession, and threats of layoffs.

With no time to waste or rest, we got right back to work. Our MAT leaders and members leaned on each other – and their car horns – to get the necessary PPE, keep layoffs to a minimum, and redeploy our members to new essential jobs.

Our fight for racial and social justice extended beyond the four walls of UC with the death of George Floyd. Our union joined millions in the streets in the largest demonstrations in our nation’s history.

Every obstacle we faced along the way made it abundantly clear, we needed new leadership in the white house. Local 3299 hit the phones and made calls to fellow AFSCME members in Arizona and Nevada, and on November 3rd, it paid off.

These crises are far from over. Some of us are still struggling and our union is mourning the losses of members we held dear due to COVID.

But we remain united. In having a strong union, despite the social distance, we still show up and stand up. When the hits come, we’ve got each other’s back. 3299 fights back, and we win. What follows are the stories of union power, members’ dues at work, resilience and courage, and how, in a year of epic struggle, we remain powerful. It’s truly something to celebrate.

In Unity,
Kathryn Lybarger
President

2020 Statewide Victories

UCD
Two hundred and sixty service workers were in jeopardy of losing their job due to COVID, we could not let that happen so we took action. We organized caravans and pickets to Chancellors and Regents home and eventually won redeployment agreements for everyone! Together we are stronger and together we will get through this.UCB
What seemed like an impossible task became possible thanks to our new No Contracting out Language! For years UC Berkeley would outsource tree trimming work, but we’ve been pushing for those jobs since we won the new contract language. As of late this year, we got UCB to commit to hire tree trimmers as full time career workers and to pay for all education and certifications needed by our members to become qualified tree trimmers.

UCSF
Much like the rest of the nation, many custodians and hospital staff in UCSF were facing layoffs, but being in a union makes the difference. Workers quickly organized and pushed back and won redeployment agreements, allowing them to keep their jobs to survive through these unprecedented times. Some are now being offered full time career jobs in new positions.

UCSC
UCSC planned to lay off workers and to contract out work in other departments. Using our new contract language, we quickly put a stop to the subcontracting and made sure members facing layoffs got those positions instead.

UCM
One of our fiercest Executive Board members, MAT leader, and Bargaining Team Member, now has a new tittle: Mrs. City Council Woman for Merced district 3. Congratulations to Bertha on such a big win!

UCSB
After 15 months of actions & meetings, we pressured management to bring back a wrongfully terminated MAT leader.

UCLA, campus
UCLA service workers didn’t waste any time to push for proper COVID protocol in their workplace. In early March, workers demanded answers about operations on campus and safety protocol for students and workers. By early April, one of our demands was met, mandatory face masks, but we still needed proper PPE, COVID testing, and contact tracing. Now, staff and students are required to complete a daily symptom survey and are tested for COVID twice a week. We protect one another!

UCLA, MedCenter
Using our new contract language, we insourced 7 contracted out DMS custodians. Workers now have job security, benefits, and will retire with dignity.

UCI 
The Patient Financial Services and Small Business leadership team wanted to eliminate a long-standing tardy practice. Members and MAT leaders in both departments organized and met with management to push back on the new policy by providing documentation of how the grace period was a long-standing practice.
UC was unable to provide any evidence to show cause for the proposed work rule change thereby dropping their proposed tardy work rule. A great victory for our MATs!

UCR
In the middle of the height of the pandemic, UCR laid off sixty seven workers from Dining. We right away began to organize daily honk-a-thons to the Chancellor’s home and after a few months, UCR called the workers back to work.

UCSD
EVS workers at UCSD Hillcrest have zero tolerance for harassment. When workers found out an old supervisor with a history of racial bias and preferential treatment was returning, they quickly expressed their concerns to management. Their complaints fell on deaf ears so they stepped it up and scheduled a meeting with the Chief Admin Officer. Members gave testimonies and made it clear they had zero confidence in this supervisor’s ability to supervise and their integrity.

After the meeting, UCSD Hillcrest decided not to hire the supervisor. Proving once again that when we fight, we win!