The anticipation that comes the night before a strike is more than familiar to Christopher Contreras, a senior custodian at UC Santa Cruz and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local 3299 Member. 

Contreras and his colleagues are no strangers to picketing at the intersection of Bay Street and Coolidge Drive, marching through the street with their signs, chanting their demands for the university to provide affordable health care, higher pay and secure housing — demands they’ve been fighting for since their contract expired in January 2024. 

But in the early hours of May 14, before anyone had the chance to arrive at the picket line, AFSCME Local 3299 announced that they had reached a tentative contract agreement with the University of California. 

“I didn’t even sleep. I was still awake when they called me [saying] that there was no strike. I was happy because there was no need to be out there,” Contreras recalled. “But it was exhausting having to call so many people to tell them the strike was off because we were ready.”

UCSC Kresge College senior custodial worker and AFSCME Local 3299 member, Christopher Contreras (yellow coat), marches with a crowd of students on the first day of the union’s Nov. 17-18, 2025 strike.

After multiple short-term strikes over the last two years, AFSCME Local 3299 decided to take the historic step in voting for their first ever open-ended strike. According to their website, the union came to this consensus after filing two unfair labor practices against the UC, one over their harsh healthcare increases and another over their refusal to negotiate housing benefits.

Janet Mucino, a senior custodian at UCSC and an executive board member of AFSCME Local 3299, spoke to the shortcomings of the healthcare that the university provides for union workers. 

“We’ve had a couple of strikes before because the university [enacts] a lot of unfair labor practices,” Mucino said. “They violate our rights. They increase our health insurance with no notice, no negotiation, just implement. But they don’t increase our salaries.”

Immediate Relief and Conflicting Comments 

Among the key issues that union members spoke out against were healthcare, housing and transportation conditions, and minimum wage. 

While all issues listed within their demands are burdening union members and non-members alike, unionizers say they especially experience the direct impacts of rising transportation costs on a daily basis. 

As workers, we need to pay to go to work, and it’s a lot of money,” Mucino explained. “Even if it’s vanpool, carpool or permit aid, we pay the same amount as any student.”

UCSC Senior Custodian Janet Mucino (left) and bus driver Kevin Parks (center) — both AFSCME executive board members — address a crowd gathered at the picket during their strike on Nov. 20, 2024. 

For AFSCME Local 3299 member Christopher Contreras, working at UCSC is his dream job. However, as prices increase and wages stay static, it can be difficult to weigh the costs with the benefits. 

After vanpool prices increased, Contreras was left to wonder,“Are they going to give us a good raise so that we have some money left over, or not?”

Key aspects of the newly agreed upon contract from the AFSCME Local 3299 website outlines:

  • Livable Wage: A minimum wage increase from $25 in 2025, $26.50 in 2026 and $30.10 by April 2029
  • Affordable Healthcare: 7.5 percent caps for Kaiser Permanente, and 5 percent caps for UC Blue & Gold
  • Annual Wage and Equity Increases: A guaranteed step increase and 2 percent lump sum for those at top step each year, with guaranteed annual steps for all who are not topped out
  • Parking: Caps on parking rate increases maintained at $10 or 10 percent

Following the contract’s release, union members felt a sense of relief in knowing that the university answered some of their calls for help. 

“It’s been an exhausting two years of organizing,” Contreras said. “Coming together and getting people ready is exhausting too. It takes a lot of time, but I’m happy that we won. Obviously, there’s always more you can ask for, right? No matter what.”

While this new contract is considered a historic win by AFSCME Local 3299 and will provide immediate relief after two years of struggle, some individuals took their distaste for the resolution to social media.  

Comments on the AFSCME Local 3299 Instagram post announcing the new contract expressed dissatisfaction over settling for the university’s proposal. One individual noted that, “Two years of negotiations doesn’t mean every decision made at the end was smart. Time spent and strategy aren’t the same thing.”

Many more question the lack of artificial intelligence protections in the contract. Commenters raised concerns over the union “selling out” while not prioritizing clear communication about what workers in the union would receive. 

Comments on the posts announcing the union’s tentative agreement, contract voting timeline and contract win announcement have all been turned off. All other posts on the page have limited comment restrictions. 

When City on a Hill Press reached out to AFSCME Local 3299 for comment, the executive board failed to respond. 

As the fight for better working conditions continues, Janet Mucino expressed being able to take a much-needed breath, after the union secured one of their biggest priorities —  immediate support. 

“People are really struggling right now, this gives relief,” Mucino said. “We have healthcare protection, we have [equity] increases, we have steps, and we can wait for housing in another way we continue to fight.”

Affordable Housing and A Hope For The Future 

Though all of the demands were pressing concerns for workers, there was a large emphasis on the need for secure housing benefits. The union proposed an up to 20 percent housing loan for first-time homeowners.  

The university did not agree to this demand in the new contract, but they did announce a pilot initiative program that would support homeownership among union workers. 

According to a campus news announcement released by Assistant Vice Chancellor Scott Hernandez-Jason, the program is a collaboration between the UC and California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA). 

UC employees can be eligible for a “shared appreciation loan covering up to 20 percent of a home’s purchase price, which may be applied toward down payment and closing costs.”

While this unprecedented pilot program will provide aid to eligible workers, it raises concerns in the road to securing these benefits for UCSC employees across campus. 

AFSCME Local 3299 Executive Board Member and UCSC bus driver Kevin Parks marches at the picket line during AFSCME Local 3299’s Nov. 20, 2024 strike.

“This partnership with the CalHFA represents a transformative investment in our workforce,” said AFSCME Local 3299 Executive Board Member, Kevin Parks, who is also a bus driver at UCSC. “They have taken our idea, and they’re calling it innovative now as if it were their idea, which we have no problem with … It’s the same exact plan that we had, so that’s a good thing [even if] we didn’t get our housing language in our contract.” 

The second path to homeownership for AFSCME Local 3299 members is through a proposed ballot initiative, which outlines the same 20 percent loan for authorized university workers who are first-time homeowners. Union members are hoping that it makes it to the ballot in time for the general election in November.

“[We’re trying] to put it on the ballot for all Californians [to vote on] in the elections. We want to put it there because we deserve to have a house. We deserve to have a place [and to not] be homeless.” 

AFSCME Local 3299 join the Union Auto Workers 4811 picket line on May 22, 2024.

In spite of this hope for homeownership, Kevin Parks noted that housing assistance hasn’t received much support from the university, and is still a basic need of survival that the union continues to fight for.

After negotiations with the UC and a unanimous “Yes” vote from AFSCME Local 3299 members, the new contract was approved and is set to expire in November 2029. 

As a bargainer for AFSCME Local 3299, Janet Mucino anticipates the imminent struggle to follow as the potential impacts of the UC’s new contract unfold.. 

“I’m okay with what we have now, [but] the university can do better,” Mucino said. “UC can do better with the workers … they already have the money. They already support some workers, but why not the essential workers?”