My name is Carina Jauregui, and I’m an Animal Health Technician 4 at UC San Francisco in the Sandler Neurosciences Center, supporting research into neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. I chose this work because it matters to families like mine—my mother has a neurodegenerative disease—and because quality animal care is the foundation of reliable science.

I’m also a single mom supporting my son and my retired parents. Because UC pay is so far below what it should be for the skills and experience our work demands, I can’t afford to live near campus. I tried every option—hostels and alternative housing—and after a few close calls, I ended up sleeping in my car, searching each night to find a place to shower and brush my teeth, so I could keep doing this vital work. As unreal as this may seem, I am not alone; many more people are just scraping by while contributing to world-class research, top-tier patient care, and technical expertise.

That’s why I’m voting YES to strike. We deserve fair pay and humane staffing so our science stands on solid ground. We’re not ID numbers on a badge; we are not just Social Security numbers, so that UC can electronically transfer money into our bank account. We’re people with faces, families, and dreams of living a better life. When the people caring for research animals can’t afford to care for themselves, science suffers—and so do the patients counting on future treatments.

If you’ve felt like just a number, now is our chance to show our faces, our stories, and our power—together.

Voting to strike isn’t about disruption—it’s about recognition. It’s how we win a contract that lets us keep doing the work we love without sacrificing our health, families, and futures.

Join me in voting YES to authorize a strike on Monday, September 22, 2025.

In solidarity,

Carina Jauregui
UPTE Workplace Representative
Animal Health Technician 4, UC San Francisco