Court lets UC strike go on; 447 ordered to report for work
By Kathy Robertson
Senior Staff Writer- Sacramento Business Journal
A Sacramento Superior Court Judge David Brown has ordered 447 technical, patient care and professional employees to report for work during a two-day strike Tuesday and Wednesday at five University of California medical centers.
UC officials initially asked the state Public Employment Relations Board for a temporary injunction to stop a massive strike unions that represent nearly 30,000 workers at the five hospitals. PERB said it would ask the court to halt about 400 “essential” workers from walking off the job; UC went to court with the agency this morning to ask that at least 700 be ordered to work through the strike.
The ruling includes respiratory therapists, imaging techs, hemodialysis techs, clinical lab scientists, pharmacists and other highly skilled employees statewide, including 67 at UC Davis Medical Center.
“The court is satisfied that … the strike would prevent delivery of an essential public service that is different from that provided by private-sector employees who are permitted to stroke, and therefore constitute(s) a substantial and imminent threat to public health and safety,” Brown said in his ruling midday Monday. “PERB has failed to meet its burden to establish that there is reasonable cause to believe that the unions’ conduct will create a substantial and imminent threat to public health and safety employees in other classifications … are permitted to strike during their scheduled working hours May 21 and 22.”
The numbers ensure staffing of essential positions remain at weekend levels.
“Today’s ruling affirms our members’ right to advocate for their patients and reassure the public that there will be no imminent health and safety risks associated with this week’s strike,” AFSCME Local 3299 President Kathy Lybarger said in a news release.
Thousands of workers from two unions plan to walk off their jobs at 4 a.m. Tuesday.
UC officials said they’ll do everything they can to ensure patient safety, but some procedures and treatments will be delayed.
“We will remain open during the strike,” UC Davis Medical Center CEO Ann Madden Rice said. “We have alerted all relevant state and federal agencies and hospitals we work within our community.”
UC Davis will monitor traffic in its emergency department hour by hour, and divert patients if necessary, Rice said. “We don’t know how many employees will strike, so we have contingency plans in place.”
The local hospital has postponed 48 elective surgeries, 500 radiology procedures and about 12 gastrointestinal lab cases, she said. Patients who have not been notified about a schedule change should show up for their appointments.
The strike was called by the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, which is at impasse in contract negotiations with the university. The union represents about 13,000 workers statewide, including about 2,900 at UC Davis.
More than 8,500 university service workers also represented by AFSCME have announced they will walk out in sympathy, including another 1,200 at UC Davis.
A second union — University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America Local 9119, will walk out in sympathy Tuesday. The union represents 8,700 workers statewide, including 1,700 at UC Davis.
Unions say understaffing and exorbitant pension benefits for upper management are at issue, while UC officials say these three union groups refuse to sign off on pension reforms already agreed to by 14 bargaining units at eight other unions and more than 60,000 non-union workers.
The two-day strike is expected to cost UC hospitals a total of $20 million. The estimate at University of California Davis is $1.5 million a day, for a total of $3 million.
[Source]: Sacramento Business Journal
