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Union workers of the University of California's research labs and other facilities are striking in San Francisco today to protest wages they say fall far below the “living wage.” 

Allison Brown, local chapter president of the University Professional and Technical Employees union, estimates that between 50 and 60 people are striking in front of the UC San Francisco campus on Parnassus Avenue.  

“What this is is an unfair labor practice one-day strike,” Brown said from the event. “We're telling the university that they need to get back to the bargaining table (and) start bargaining in good faith.” 

Brown said a typical animal technician at UCSF deserves to make the “living wage” of $14.50 an hour. Instead, she said, they average between $10.35 and $11.35 and hour, “and some of them not even that.” 

Brown said strikers will be at the campus throughout the day. She expected a total of about 125 members from her union alone, adding that other unions, including the Teamsters, were present to show solidarity. 

Wallace Ravven, spokesman for UC San Francisco, gave a much lower estimate of the number of picketers at Monday's event. 

“The number of picketers at the peak was about 30 or 35,” he said. Ravven added the strikers were mostly technical staff, and “did not interfere with patient care in any way” at the UCSF facility. Today's strike comes after 10 months of failed contract negotiations between the university system and the union.