UC workers rally with concerns about understaffing

Union workers rallied in front of the UCLA Medical Center on Monday with concerns about understaffing and patient safety at the University of California medical centers.

Protesters included UC workers from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 chapter, University Professional and Technical Employees and California Nurses Association unions, said Todd Stenhouse, spokesman for AFSCME 3299.

AFSCME 3299 represents about 20,000 UC workers at 10 UC campuses and five UC medical centers.

The protesters claim that recent understaffing has compromised patient care.

“The UC’s misguided priorities … have effectively put the already overstaffed pockets of executives ahead of the needs of the patients, students and the workers at the foundation of the UC system,” Stenhouse said.

In May, hundreds of AFSCME 3299 workers went on strike over similar concerns of understaffing, patient safety and pension reform. The protest and strike happened in the wake of a stalemate in AFSCME 3299′s collective bargaining negotiations with the UC.

The UC is currently negotiating new contracts with UPTE and CNA to address pension reform, but AFSCME 3299 and the UC have not had any negotiations since the strike, said Dianne Klein, a UC spokeswoman. The state had stepped in to help mediate the negotiations.

“We are committed to the (mediation process) and we certainly hope AFSCME approaches it with the same spirit,” Klein said.

Compiled by Kristen Taketa, Bruin senior staff.

[Source]: The Daily Bruin