UC goes to court to stop medical-worker strike

Kathy Robertson
Senior Staff Writer- Sacramento Business Journal

While the California Public Employment Relations Board will seek a court injunction Monday to stop University of California medical center workers from striking Tuesday and Wednesday, university officials are gearing up for a massive strike.

Thousands of patient care, service, professional and technical workers in two unions plan to walk off their jobs May 21 and 23. About 30,000 workers statewide — including 5,800 at UC Davis — are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 or University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America Local 9119.

PERB will seek an injunction to stop about 400 workers from striking because they are “essential” employees crucial to patient safety. These workers include pharmacists, imaging techs and respiratory therapists who work in neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care or burn units. UC officials plan to go court to argue that more workers are vitally needed on the job next week, university spokeswoman Dianne Klein said.

Timing is dicey. The hearing is Monday morning; the strike is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. Tuesday. AFSCME reads the numbers as affirmation of the right of most patient care workers to strike. The union, which represents 13,000 of these workers, is in stalled contract negotiations with the university. AFSCME called the strike to highlight what it says is cost cutting and understaffing at UC medical centers while management salaries and pension benefits continue to climb.

More than 8,500 university services workers also represented by AFSCME plan to walk out in sympathy. So do more than 8,700 professional and technical workers represented by UPTE.

UC will do everything possible to ensure the safety of patients at UC hospitals statewide, but it will cost up to $20 million, according to Dr. John Stobo, senior vice president for Health science and Services. “But the real cost is the human one. If employees represented by AFSCME and UPTE strike, it will mean cancer patients may have their chemotherapy curtailed,” Stobo said in a statement. “It will mean a burn victim may have to be diverted from the UC Davis burn treatment center. It will mean someone suffering from chest pains may have to travel an additional 15 minutes for treatment because a UC emergency room is backed up for lack of staff.”

The PERB numbers are roughly consistent with AFSCME’s proposed patient protection plan to provide appropriate staffing during the strike “should an emergent need come up like a major accident that send victims in to the hospital,” union spokesman Todd Stenhouse said.

[Source]: Sacramento Business Journal