All year long, Teamsters members across the state fight hard with the help of our Union to enforce our Teamsters contracts. By doing so, we strengthen our Union protections, put bad managers in their place, and build a fairer workplace for all UC and CSU employees. Read up on some of our recent victories below and remember to always reach out to a Union Steward or Representative if you need help at work. By holding bosses accountable and exercising our rights in the workplace, we keep our Union strong!
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"Teamsters Local 2010 fights hard for our members, whether they've been Teamsters for ten years or ten days. Our Teamsters contracts are strong because we have built a Union whose members are active and involved, standing together to do whatever it takes to win. And we work hard to enforce our contracts. With the help of our incredible Union Stewards and the power of our members, we are Teamsters strong!"
Teamsters 2010 Continues to Grow! 💪
Our union has a powerful history. Though Teamsters Local 2010 only formed 14 years ago in early 2010, Teamsters workers have been fighting for rights in the workplace since the 1960s and 1970s. Organizing even before California public sector employees were guaranteed collective bargaining rights, the workers who have now become UC and CSU Teamsters have been fighting for fair pay, harassment-free workplaces, protection from layoffs, and much more for over 50 years.
Despite historic wins, both of the unions that would eventually become Teamsters Local 2010—the Coalition of Union Employees (CUE) at the UC and the State Employees Trades Council (SETC), representing CSU and UC Skilled Trades workers—faced major challenges in the 1990s and 2000s that left worker pay stagnant and union membership falling. Only by coming together as a united Teamsters local were we able to capitalize on our power as workers, bring together the resources we needed to fight, and ultimately win the powerful contracts, raises, and benefits we have today!
Read more about the history of our Union, how we came together as Teamsters 2010, and how we’ve united 19,000 Teamsters workers (and counting!) in our latest article:
Huge Win for 500+ UCLA Teamsters!
Teamsters Local 2010 won a major settlement in May for more than 500 CX Unit workers at the UCLA Patient Communications Center (PCC), putting an end to absurd and punitive practices by PCC management!
More wins for UCLA CX Teamsters:
- A CX Teamster at Ronald Reagan Medical Center got a disciplinary warning rescinded after filing a grievance with the help her Union Rep! The warning was a clear act of retaliation after our Union sister reported her manager’s abusive conduct, with no evidence to back up the warning’s accusations, and UCLA quickly agreed!
- Local 2010 filed a grievance against UCLA Health after a Teamsters 2010 CX member was told not to report for work when the doctor to whom he was assigned was taking time off, resulting in 19 lost days of work and more than $3,000 in lost wages! This was a clear violation of our contract’s protections against layoffs (which includes involuntary reduction of’ hours), and the University quickly acknowledged their error, paying our brother for all wages lost and making sure he won’t be kept from working again!
- After one of our UCLA Health brothers joined Teamsters 2010 through the accretion process in March 2024, his manager incorrectly informed our brother that his contract with UCLA would not be renewed. This was a violation of our CX contract, which guarantees that every contract employee who joins our Union will gain career or limited status. Our Union filed a grievance and our brother was quickly approved as a full-time career employee of UCLA!
- Our Union helped a UCLA Health member stop a potential medical separation, allowing our brother to return to work with manager approval!
Protecting our Rights at CSU!
CSU Teamsters won a historic contract victory in January–the return of salary steps for all Unit 6 employees after nearly 30 years of wage stagnation–and that big win wouldn’t have been possible without all the smaller but no less important wins Teamsters rack up every month. By filing grievances, taking poor managers to task, and defending every article of our contract when CSU acts badly in the workplace, we build the power and reputation for strength we need to achieve incredible things!
Here’s just a few of the victories CSU Teamsters have notched since our January contract campaign:
- At CSU Channel Islands, one Skilled Trades Teamster won $500 after CSUCI failed to respond to his reclassification appeal!
- CSU San Francisco Skilled Trades Teamsters won an increase in their boot allowance to $100 after our Union pushed management for more!
- Also at CSUSF, two Teamsters Electricians won more than $100 each after they filed a contracting-out grievance with the help of our Union!
- At Cal State LA and CSU San Marcos, Local 2010 is fighting hard to ensure that Skilled Trades workers who were called onto campus during Tropical Storm Hilary in 2023 get the Emergency Pay they deserve for coming to work in such risky conditions!
More than $300,000 for UCB Teamsters!
Teamsters members have been hard at work at UC Berkeley since 2024 began, winning more than $300,000 in equity adjustments and reclasses with the help of Union Representative Joseph Meyer! In the past eight months, 29 UCB CX Teamsters have won raises worth $175,000 following equity adjustments, 11 Teamsters have reclassifications with salary gains worth $75,000, and 48 employees at UCB’s dining halls fought for and won a department-wide equity adjustment–based on years of service and with a higher starting rate of pay, those 48 workers have won a collective $54,000 raise!
Early Childhood Educators at UCB have also won an adjustment based on their years of service, but our Union isn’t satisfied with what the UC has offered so far. We’re keeping up the pressure until ECEs get the full, equitable salaries they deserve!
$30,000 for UCD Health CX Workers!
Fifty-two Teamsters workers, all Patient Navigator 2s at UC Davis Health, finally got their money! Workers like Leslie, Leon, LaVonne, Paraas, Jenna, and Kathryn, pictured right, received more than $30,000 collectively in retroactive overtime and holiday pay after our Union called UC Davis Health to account.
UCD Health had failed to pay workers at holiday or overtime rates throughout much of 2022. So, when Patient Navigator 2s joined our Union through the accretion process in mid-2023, we were able to file a grievance against UCD for that failure to pay thanks to our Teamsters contract, winning back the money workers had earned! That’s the power of our Union!
Teamsters fight hard for UC Teamsters!
- At UC Berkeley, one CX member had her suspension reduced in part after our Union filed a grievance and another had her letter of warning removed after our member’s Union Rep caught UCB leaving out critical information during the grievance process.
- At UC Merced, two Skilled Trades workers were awarded four hours of overtime pay each after UCM violated our contract article on call-backs.
UCI Teamsters Win Fair Parking Rates!
UC Irvine CX Teamsters won a major victory after a neutral arbitrator declared that UCI violated our Teamsters contract by charging Teamsters workers $76 per month at two previously free campus lots! The arbitrator’s decision mandates that UCI reduce parking rates at both lots for Teamsters workers (currently down to $10/month), that UCI refund Teamsters charged the $76 rate, AND that they pay interest on any late refunds!
UCLA Head Start Teachers Win $11,000 Raises!
After a year-long fight, Early Childhood Educators at UCLA’s Early Head Start program have won their equity and classification review! After their first request for a review was denied by UCLA administration, the educators worked with Union Rep Stephanie Aguilar to collect data on the disparity between their pay and the pay of other UCLA and off-campus teachers. They submitted this information to administration, and with the support of our Union and their supportive program director, the review finally came through!
The seven teachers each received a raise of more than $11,000, equivalent to 9-10 steps on their salary scale, and an overall 20% bump from their previous salaries! This is a huge win for some of UCLA’s most under-appreciated workers, who are now fighting to secure reclassification for their lead teachers. Even after a big win, Teamsters never stop fighting for fair pay and fair workplaces!
More wins for UCLA CX Teamsters:
- A CX Teamster at UCLA Health won six months of back pay owed for providing bilingual services in her workplace. Our contract guarantees a monthly bilingual pay stipend for certified bilingual medical center Teamsters! Our Union helped her break through months of management stonewalling and secure the pay she’d earned with her language work.
- A Blank Assistant 3 member secured THREE YEARS of out-of-class pay for prolonged assignment to duties outside his job description with the help of his Union Stewards!
- A Teamsters member at UCLA’s Patient Communications Center returned to work in April after suffering two years off the job because of a wrongful termination while on disability leave! Now she’s back on payroll, with no break in her UC service!
- UCLA attempted to force one Teamsters member to take sick leave after refusing to extend her work-from-home accommodations for another month. Our Teamsters sister called her rep, who informed UCLA that our Union never agreed to a maximum period for WFH accommodations, ensuring that UCLA administration worked with our sister’s managers to bring her back to work on a reduced schedule that accommodates our sister’s health!
- After UCLA’s Venice Family Clinic announced it would categorically deny Bilingual Pay to all staff, workers and our Union filed an immediate grievance and pressured the clinic to begin certifying bilingual workers!
Equity Pay for UC Davis Library Assistants!
21 Library Assistants are getting an average 9% raise after our Union went to bat for equity considerations and increases for every worker! Former Library Assistant Jenny Hodge, pictured at right, led negotiations with UC Davis for her fellow workers just a few months before being hired as a Member Organizer by our Union! Here’s the win in her words:
“After concluding bargaining for our 2022-2026 contract, Teamsters met with each campus to review the potential for increasing the steps of the Library Assistant series. As a Library Assistant, I believed we deserved a salary range more in line with other titles on campus. Despite initial resistance, UC Davis agreed to conduct an equity review. This resulted in 21 Library Assistants receiving an average 9% increase.
“Equity considerations were also implemented for new hires and reclassifications. This ensured that the 13 Library Assistants who did not receive an equity adjustment with this agreement had already undergone the process during hiring or reclassifications. Further, Teamsters negotiated new language in our current contract that provides a lump-sum equivalent to a step increase for those at the top step. This will continue to benefit the three library assistants who have been at the top step for years.
“It was incredibly rewarding to present these increases to my colleagues in the library. I am thrilled that so many hardworking, deserving individuals will benefit. But it would not have happened without their actions and the entire Bargaining Unit’s actions and support. This exemplifies the true power of working together to enhance the lives of our members!”
Heidi Hugli, one of the recipients, said, “I just about fell out of my chair when I got the news. This was, by far, the biggest increase of my career at UC Davis. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
UCSD AO2s Win $7,000 Each!
Last year, our Union won a major legal victory ordering UC San Diego to resume processing requests for pay equity increases for Admin Officer 2s. In May, we doubled-down on that win, securing settlements of $7,000 each for three AO2s whose equity increases had been blocked since 2020! The UC can’t get away with withholding Teamsters pay!
Teamsters Kid Wins Two Union Scholarships!
Congratulations to Ixchel, daughter of Local 2010 member Luis Ramirez, who won a $1,000 Teamsters Joint Council 7 Harry Polland/Robert Morales Scholarship AND a $2,000 award from the Teamsters Scholarship Fund! Luis is an auto mechanic at Sacramento State University and the latest in a long line of Union workers.
Each year, Teamsters Joint Council 7 and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, among many other organizations, select Teamsters kids and dependents to receive scholarships that can be used for college and trade school expenses! Learn more about what awards will be available starting in 2025 here.
