What University Professional and Technical Employees does

University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE-CWA Local 9119) is a non-profit labor union founded in 1990 by University of California employees and affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) since 1993. UPTE represents over 26,000 healthcare professionals, research staff, and technical workers across the UC system — including nine campuses, five medical centers, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and three community colleges — organized into bargaining units for healthcare (RX), research (HX), and technical (TX) employees. The union was certified as the largest tech-worker union in the United States following a 2025-2026 organizing drive that brought in 2,100 technical workers, expanding the TX unit to 8,400 members.

UPTE's revenue is generated entirely through monthly membership dues, calculated as 1.15% of gross salary (capped at $22/month) for members without a contract and 1.30% of gross salary for members under contract, with tiered maximums ranging from $85 to $145 per month depending on bargaining unit. The union's go-to-market is community-led field organizing: workers demonstrate majority support within a job title, petition the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) for certification, and upon certification immediately gain access to existing contract benefits including healthcare premium caps, pension protections, layoff protections, and guaranteed annual raises. The 2025-2028 contract was ratified with 98% approval from nearly 12,000 voters and for the first time included language enabling the union to bargain over working conditions involving AI.

UPTE operates a 30+ person statewide staff housed in Berkeley, California, including Regional Directors, Organizing and Communications Directors, legal counsel, data organizers, and Lead Organizers embedded at each UC campus chapter. The union maintains over 1,000 workplace/unit representatives across worksites and is governed by elected member officers and an Executive Board with chapter representation. Through its CWA, AFL-CIO, and Strategic Organizing Center affiliations, UPTE draws on a national labor infrastructure of 700,000+ members for political, organizing, and bargaining support.

Name

University Professional and Technical Employees

Legal name

University Professional and Technical Employees CWA Local 9119

Website

https://upte.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

UPTE-CWA Local 9119 is a California labor union representing over 26,000 healthcare, research, and technical employees of the University of California system across nine campuses, medical centers, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: UPTE generates revenue through monthly membership dues calculated as 1.15% of gross monthly salary (max $22) for members without a contract, and 1.30% of gross monthly salary for members with a contract, with tiered maximums: $145 for RX/TX units, $140 for HX unit, $115 for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, $85 for Lawrence Livermore Skilled Trades. Dues maximums increase by $10 when represented employees receive at least 2% pay increases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UPTE-CWA Local 9119 is a labor union that provides collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, grievance administration, workplace safety advocacy, and member benefits administration for healthcare, research, and technical professionals at the University of California system, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and select California community colleges. Once certified by PERB, the union negotiates contracts covering all workers in the bargaining unit, regardless of membership status.

Product overview

University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) CWA Local 9119 is a labor union offering union representation and advocacy services for over 26,000 healthcare professionals, research staff, and technical employees at the University of California system and related institutions. The organization provides collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, workplace safety advocacy, member benefits programs, and organizing services for workers across UC campuses, medical centers, and laboratories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UPTE Union Representation Services Exclusive collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, grievance administration, workplace safety advocacy, and member benefits administration for healthcare, research, and technical workers at the University of California system, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and select California community colleges. Services are delivered through PERB-certified bargaining units and through a statewide network of more than 1,000 workplace representatives.
• UPTE Retirees Association Member association for retired UPTE members, providing ongoing engagement and retiree-focused resources.
• UPTE Member Benefits Program Contract-administered benefits package for UPTE members including healthcare premium caps (up to $230/month savings vs. non-union), pension protections (retirement at 50 with max benefits at 60), just cause protections, layoff protections with 3-year preferential recall/rehire, 30-day notice for remote work schedule changes, 40 hours of professional development, and a binding reclassification process with a 90-day deadline.
• UPTE Workplace Representation and Grievance Services Workplace representation, grievance filing, contract enforcement, and layoff reversal support for UPTE members at UC campuses, medical centers, and laboratories. Documented outcomes include the reversal of layoffs of eight healthcare quality improvement specialists at UCI Health (recovering ten total positions) and reinstatement of a UC Davis research engineer with back pay.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Communications Workers of America (CWA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 April 1993UPTE affiliated with CWA in 1993, becoming CWA Local 9119. CWA is a 700,000-member union in AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States. This affiliation provides UPTE with access to CWA's resources, organizing support, political infrastructure, and national union network.
• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPTE is affiliated with AFL-CIO through its CWA membership, connecting it to the largest federation of unions in the United States. AFL-CIO provides national labor movement resources, political backing, and coordination for member unions.
• Strategic Organizing Center (SOC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPTE affiliated with the Strategic Organizing Center, a North American national trade union center that provides organizing resources and support for affiliated unions.
• California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)coreOthersUPTE interacts with PERB as the regulatory body that certifies union representation for public employees in California. Workers file petitions with PERB to establish UPTE as their exclusive bargaining representative.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• United Auto Workers (UAW): UAW has recently expanded into higher education, public-sector, and tech-worker organizing and is now an emerging peer in the academic and tech-unionization space where UPTE has built leadership. It is comparable as a structurally dues-funded union pursuing similar newer organizing territory.

Direct peers

• National Nurses United (NNU): NNU is the largest union of registered nurses in the U.S. and has been active at UC medical centers. It is a direct peer competing for representation of healthcare professionals within the same UC employer footprint that UPTE covers.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU represents healthcare, janitorial, and public-sector workers and is one of the largest North American unions. It is a direct peer to UPTE given overlapping healthcare worker representation at UC medical centers and similar PERB-certified public-sector bargaining structures in California.
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): AFSCME is the largest public-sector union in the U.S., representing state, county, and municipal employees including public university workers. It is the most direct structural peer to UPTE in terms of public-employee collective bargaining, dues-funded revenue model, and AFL-CIO affiliation.
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM): IAM represents skilled trades, technical, and public-sector workers and has organized Lawrence Livermore and other national laboratory workers in California. It is a direct peer to UPTE in the technical/skilled trades representation space and a CWA/AFL-CIO affiliate operating in overlapping geographies.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters: The Teamsters represent a broad range of public- and private-sector workers, including healthcare and public employees. As a large, dues-funded labor union operating in California, it is a structural and operational peer to UPTE even where its specific bargaining units do not directly overlap.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): AFT represents higher education faculty, healthcare professionals, and public employees. AFT and its locals represent UC faculty and staff in adjacent bargaining units, making it a direct peer competing for representation rights at the same University of California employer.
• California Federation of Teachers (CFT): CFT is a state affiliate of AFT representing community college faculty and staff across California. UPTE represents community college adjuncts at three specific campuses (Butte, Sequoias, Mt. San Jacinto) where CFT also operates, making it a regional direct peer in adjacent higher-education bargaining.

Others

• California Labor Federation (AFL-CIO): UPTE is affiliated with the California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO as a state labor federation. The California Labor Federation is a thematically related ecosystem organization providing political and organizing infrastructure to UPTE and other member unions across the state.

Broad incumbents

• Communications Workers of America (CWA): CWA is UPTE's parent union (UPTE is CWA Local 9119) and represents workers across telecom, media, public sector, and tech. It is a broad incumbent peer operating across the same labor movement space, providing UPTE with organizing resources and national bargaining infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uptecwa
• Facebookfacebook.com/UPTECWA
• Instagraminstagram.com/uptecwa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-professional-and-technical-employees

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about University Professional and Technical Employees