Workers protest hospital conditions

  EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Yashar Ettekal, a
third-year biology student, holding sign, protests in front of the
Jules Stein Eye Institute.

By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Staff

A total of three people are left to clean all 10 floors and 400
beds of the medical center during the midnight shift, according to
employees at the UCLA Medical Center.

Union leaders said conditions for workers and patients are being
sacrificed because of downsizing in the hospital’s Unit
Service Associates department, which is responsible for keeping the
medical center clean.

A group of nearly 100 workers, supporters and students staged an
hour-long demonstration Wednesday in front of Jules Stein Eye
Institute to protest the department’s 30 percent loss of the
total USAs over a three-year period.

Representatives from Consciencia Libre, Raza Woman, MEChA, the
Environmental Coalition and Concerned Asian Pacific-Islander
Students for Action participated in the demonstration.

“UCLA has this big name, but underneath it all, it is so
dirty, literally and philosophically,” said Lakesha Harrison,
a licensed vocational nurse for the Santa Monica-UCLA Hospital.

Hospital administrators say patient care isn’t
threatened.

In 1993, the hospital had a patient count of 253 and a total of
200 USAs but as the patient population grew to over 350 in 2001,
the number of USAs was reduced to 100, union leaders said at the
protest.

Harrison said the simple solution to this problem would be to
hire more employees.

On Tuesday, one day prior to the protest, a group of workers and
student representatives met with administrators of the hospital to
discuss the issue of employing more USAs.

Administrators made a verbal agreement to workers, indicating
that progress is being made in the direction of the workers’
interests, union leaders said.

“In the past, as of Feb. 1, administrators said they will
continue to downsize the USA department by 30 percent,” said
fourth-year Latin American studies student, Francisco Garcia, a
member of Consciencia Libre.

But the verbal agreement made on Tuesday, essentially meant
nothing toward the worker’s cause, union leaders said.

“We do not accept any proposals if it is not in
writing,” said Pilar Burgess, who has been a USA for 14
years.

The workers are not being laid off but instead are being
transferred to other departments in the hospital where their job
security is threatened, said Luu Doan, an organizer for the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
union.

“Layoffs are not anticipated,” Doan said.

Workers said short staffing is leaving the hospital dangerously
dirty and is affecting the patient health.

Associate Director of Patient Services Heidi Crooks said there
is a need for improvement in terms of cleanliness at the hospital
but that it didn’t threaten patient care. She said this has
been an ongoing problem because the facility is old.

“Right now we’re so tight that we have two patients
in every room, but in the future, when the new medical center
opens, there will be one patient in each room,” Crooks
said.

Organizers of the protest said this has been a problem for a
while and added the uncleanliness extends beyond dust to dirty
bathrooms and beds. They attributed the problem to cuts in
staff.

“This has been a trend for 10 years, whenever there are
budget cuts, it is always off the backs of the workers and patient
care,” Doan said. “We’re not going to roll over
and let them do what they’ve been doing for the last 10
years.”

While workers say that Crooks’ presence in the working
area is scarce, the administrator is concerned for the cleanliness
of the medical center.

“I want it to be clear that USAs are outstanding
individuals and are committed to patient care,” Crooks said.
“They are totally committed to have a clean environment and
are doing the best they can.”