Registered nurses, pharmacists, social workers and other professional employees will be picketing in front of the five University of California Medical Centers located in Irvine, Los Angeles, Sacramento San Diego, and San Francisco Friday morning, November 1 to protest UC’s threat to implement take-away proposals against thousands of long serving employees. The research and technical units represented by University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA) at UC voted by more than 92 percent to give the union strike authorization, after months of bargaining to beat back the employer’s proposals that include severe cuts to pay and benefits.