UC workers belonging to the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 are on strike for the second day in a row. KALW’s health reporter Alaa Mostafa spoke to workers at the Berkeley campus.
AFSCME Local 3299 announced earlier this month that UC workers would be striking after almost two years of trying to negotiate a contract with the University of California. They’re hoping to get higher wages, lower healthcare premiums, and housing benefits.
On a rainy Monday, about 50 people formed a picket line on the UC Berkeley campus’s south entrance
Among them, with a megaphone, was chef Angel Fields.
"It's raining on us, but we're still trying to do our thing and hopefully the powers that be will hear us."
Fields says she’s worked in the industry for 30 years. Alongside her work at the university, she says she also has to take care of a sick mother.
"We're striking today because we need affordable housing. And there are programs in place that don't apply to us. Now, mind you, we work for a really good UC facility. But there are things in place that still keep us down and make it hard for us to afford our day-to-day life."
Fields is referring to a UC home loan assistance program that UC faculty and senior managers are eligible for.
Kat Bedford is also on the picket line today with housing on her mind. Bedford is a part of the groundskeeping staff at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where she’s worked for over two decades.
" I work right there at the lab, but I live in Stockton. I can't afford to live where I work. I've been uprooted from my home base. I've been born and raised in the Bay Area, in Oakland./ I just can't do it no more. I went [from] coming to work [in] 15 minutes to an hour and a half."
A recent UC press release stated the university is currently “pursuing inclusive strategies such as expanding its employee housing programs…”
A UC spokesperson said via email that they have no additional information to share about their housing support expansion efforts at this time.
