Around 12,000 University of California administrative, clerical and support staff in San Diego and throughout the state staged a one- day walkout Tuesday.
Picketing began before dawn at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest and Thornton Hospital in La Jolla.
Teamsters Local 911, which contends that UC management is not bargaining in good faith, encouraged the public to reschedule nonessential medical appointments and to avoid the 10 UC campuses and five medical centers around the state.
According to UC San Diego Health, the campus and medical facilities remain open. They say arrangements were made to continue operations.
Administrative assistants, collection representatives, childcare assistants and public safety dispatchers are among those taking part in the job action.
Union officials cited an October report from Occidental College that said more than 70 percent of the workers suffer from hunger or "food insecurity.''
“I know that my direct clinic values me as an employee,'' Kristen Estrada told NBC San Diego. “I just think what they're offering us doesn't show that we're valued (by) them, and we are a big asset to the hospital.''
UC San Diego Health issuing a statement saying a strike is a violation of state law since negotiations are continuing. The employees are being offered an average 18 percent raise over six years, which is competitive in the market, according to the statement.
