UC Hospitals: Most Union Members Went to Work During Labor Strike
Administrators at several University of California medical centers said that most unionized patient care employees worked as scheduled during a labor strike, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 5/22).
Details of Strike
The strike -- which included clinical and technical workers -- affected UC medical centers in:
- Davis;
- Irvine;
- Los Angeles;
- San Diego; and
- San Francisco.
The strike took place Tuesday and Wednesday.
The decision to strike came after 10 months of failed contract negotiations, according to AFSCME Local 3299.
UC officials said that the strike was an attempt to distract from more important issues, such as pension reform.
Staffing During Strike
Prior to the strike, the union said that it planned to keep weekend-level staffing in critical areas, such as respiratory therapy for intensive care units, neonatal and burn units.
Todd Stenhouse -- a spokesperson for the union -- said that some strikers would go back to work in the case of medical emergencies but would return to picketing after patients were treated.
On Monday, a Sacramento judge approved the strike but ordered a limited number of critical care staff to continue working, citing an "imminent threat to public health or safety" (California Healthline, 5/22).
Some Union Members Worked as Scheduled
Dianne Klein -- a spokesperson for the UC office of the president -- said that more than 75% of union members went to work as scheduled on Tuesday. She said that she expected the rate to be similar for Wednesday.
UC officials said that on Tuesday:
- 80% of union members went to work as scheduled at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center; and
- 77% of union members went to work as scheduled at UC-Irvine Medical Center (Los Angeles Times, 5/22).