Union strikes may affect UCLA classes, health services

Discussion sections for some classes and certain patient services at UCLA’s hospitals will be cancelled or limited today because of strikes by two major unions.

Up to about 3,800 unionized employees may not show up for their work shifts today at UCLA’s hospitals and patient care facilities. As a result, surgeries, cancer treatments, emergency rooms, trauma centers and other services that would have been offered today have been cancelled or rescheduled.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 union, which represents more than 22,000 patient care and service workers in the UC, and the UC Student-Workers Union, United Auto Workers Local 2865, which represents more than 12,000 academic student employees in the UC, are striking today to protest alleged unfair labor practices by the UC.

AFSCME 3299 has claimed that the UC illegally threatened its employees with punishments such as termination of their jobs as the union was preparing for its most recent strike in May.

“Our members have both the legal right and moral responsibility to stand up for the safety of the students and patients we serve,” said AFSCME 3299 President Kathryn Lybarger in a statement. “By attempting to silence workers, (the University) hasn’t just repeatedly broken the law – it has willfully endangered all who come to UC to learn, to heal, and to build a better life for their families.”

Not all AFSCME 3299 employees may go on strike, however. At AFSCME 3299’s last strike, only about 20 percent of AFSCME employees didn’t show up for work.

Some unionized teaching assistants cancelled their discussion sections scheduled for today to strike in solidarity with AFSCME 3299. UAW 2865 represents more than 2,000 teaching assistants at UCLA, said Cody Trojan, recording secretary for the union.

“We think it’s important to show the University that this behavior toward AFSCME workers is not okay,” said Caroline McKusick, a member of the UAW 2865 Joint Council. “Because unions have been standing up so much for students, this one-day action is just one more way of standing up for each other and the campus community.”

UCLA hospitals in Westwood and Santa Monica will remain open today despite the strike, but patient care areas, including those at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, the David Geffen School of Medicine, will be affected.

About 20 percent of elective surgeries scheduled for today have been postponed, according to a UCLA Health System statement. The health system will also bring in about 325 replacement workers and redeployed administration staff to fill in for workers who go on strike.

The strike is expected to cost UCLA more than $2.5 million in lost revenue and expenditures on replacement workers.

“We sincerely regret any inconvenience this strike may cause our patients, their families and friends,” said Dr. Tom Rosenthal, chief medical officer of UCLA Health, in a statement. “However, every effort is being made to ensure that the hospitals and clinics that are part of the UCLA Health System remain open and continue to deliver the highest level of patient care and safety through the duration of the strike.”

AFSCME 3299 has said it will organize a patient protection task force to ensure all emergencies at medical centers are addressed during the strike. A state court recently prohibited 49 AFSCME members who perform critical patient care from going on strike. AFSCME had already said it would exempt the 49 workers listed in the injunction from the strike.

Patients at medical centers across the UC will need to wait longer for diagnoses and treatments during the strike. All cancer treatments have been cancelled for today and no regular radiology services will be available for patients. UC emergency rooms and trauma centers may be unavailable.

The one-day strike will cost the University a minimum of $10 million in training and hiring replacement workers.

The strike may also affect housing and dining services at UCLA, since some employees on the Hill are members of AFSCME, said Tod Tamberg, UCLA spokesman. Services such as trash pickup and landscaping may be cancelled today, Tamberg added.

Tamberg said it is not clear whether hours will be adjusted at UCLA dining halls and restaurants, but UCLA will make efforts to minimize any disruptions caused by the strike. There were no changes in hours displayed on UCLA Dining Service’s website as of press time.

The UC has recently reached collective bargaining agreements with several other unions, including the California Nurses Association, which had originally planned to strike in solidarity with AFSCME but then gave up its right to strike when it made an agreement with the UC.

The University and AFSCME have been in heated negotiations for over a year.

The University invited AFSCME to collective bargaining negotiations earlier this month and offered several packages that “showed significant movement” on issues of contention, like wages and pension, according to a UC statement. AFSCME did not accept any of the offers.

“By calling for a strike for a second time in seven months, AFSCME leaders again are putting patients at UC medical centers and student health centers in the middle of a labor dispute,” said Dr. John Stobo, senior vice president for UC health sciences and services. “This is completely inappropriate and unfair to the people we are here to serve. Our patients and students are not bargaining chips.”

The last time AFSCME went on strike was in May, when the union protested what it said were low staffing levels at UC hospitals. The two-day strike cost the UCLA Health System more than $5 million.

Contributing reports by Alex Torpey, Bruin contributor.