Employees say unequal status is unfair, divisive

By Robin Irey
Daily Bruin Contributor

They are “permatemps” at Microsoft, substitute
teachers in the education field, casuals in UCLA’s general
work force and per diems in the UCLA Medical Center.

All are employees working alongside career counterparts without
equal recognition, and often less compensation. The idea of having
a permanent supply of workers ready to fill in for employees on
sick leave and to help with patient overcrowding may sound like
common sense.

But critics say when the Medical Center is concerned, it’s
all about dollars and cents.

In some departments, the hospital’s per diems ““ who
are paid more than career workers, but do not receive benefits
““ exceed regular staff or are considered inferior. And
despite the hospital’s dependency on per diems, those workers
say they are passed over for promotion to career ranks.

Also aggravating the situation are differing mindsets over per
diems. Workers, some of whom have been Medical Center per diems for
20 years, see themselves as equal to staff. They said the
university, on the other hand, considers them expendable, exploits
their status, and withholds seniority that is rightfully
theirs.

All of this raises fears that what began as an inventive idea to
aid efficiency now hurts patient care and alienates valuable per
diem employees. Ultimately, according to hospital workers and union
organizers for the California Nursing Association and the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, these workers
seek employment elsewhere.

“Good people work at our hospital, but they are being
forced to go to other places because they don’t ever get
converted to career status, causing us to be continually
understaffed,” said Nasreen Syed, a career worker in the
Respiratory Therapy unit.

“This has a direct effect on patient care because we have
to prioritize patients and we can’t help all of them as
quickly as they deserve,” said Syed, during a protest last
quarter in support of per diem workers.

Numerous efforts over the past two weeks to contact officials at
the Medical Center for this story were unsuccessful.

Because per diems are given no benefits, they receive a higher
hourly salary of about $4 to $6 more an hour. Vacations, paid
holidays, sick days, as well as medical coverage, are denied.

“You come in even when you are sick because you are scared
that you will lose your job because of your temporary
position,” said career nurse Margaret Konjevod, who worked
six years as a per diem.

On the surface, it sounds like a fair trade to many per diems
““ cash-in-hand instead of benefits.

“I could not afford to work as a career. I can find
cheaper health insurance outside of the hospital, so I chose to
take the extra money per hour and then plan how I spend it
myself,” said pediatrics nurse Lynn Hancock.

Many workers choose to go per-diem. Some can sign onto their
spouse’s benefit package and are happy to pocket a higher
hourly wage. Some workers are maturing and opt to work fewer
hours.

“I am 60 years old and wanted to convert back to per diem
two years ago after I had been a career (worker). I wanted to be
able to work fewer hours and I am married so it seemed more
economical to get the higher rate per hour,” said Lynn Bacon,
a Santa Monica Hospital nurse.

Still others want to spend more time at home with their
children. Whatever the reasons, many later find that in addition to
signing away benefits, they’ve given up their job security
and any seniority they might have acquired.

Hancock went per diem six years ago. Three years in, she
realized just how expendable the university thought she and her
fellow per diems were.

“I was advocating for a patient of mine and I was warned
that I should watch myself because I could lose my job since I was
per diem,” Hancock said.

When she converted to per diem, Hancock was unaware of the
implications.

Hancock said she came to the harsh realization ““ as others
may ““ that a career worker with two years at the Medical
Center may be in a superior position for advancement over a per
diem with 20 years on the job.

Hancock said in addition to being warned about advocating for
patients, she has to watch how many sick days she takes because
both could jeopardize her job.

For all these reasons, she joined CNA and became part of a
statewide bargaining committee for per diems. She meets with
university representatives to discuss alleged unfair treatment of
per diems and lobbies for equal opportunities.

At one meeting, Hancock said a university representative claimed
that per diems are viewed as expendable because they lack
commitment to the university.

“It was a blow to me to hear him say that. I hadn’t
realized exactly what they thought of us until that moment,”
Hancock said.

Liz Campos, CNA labor representative for the UCLA, Santa Monica
and UC Santa Barbara hospitals, said UCLA seems especially guilty
of that attitude.

“Per diems are given no recourse to grievance because the
university believes that they have no loyalty, which in turn
enrages us and is a slap in the face,” Campos said.

According to the UPTE agreement with the university reached in
August 1999, “The retention of casual employees shall not be
subject to Article 7 (the grievance procedure) of this
agreement.”

A lot of per diems say the university treats them like a
secondary class of workers. As evidence, they point to recent
budget proposal that allowed a 2 percent increase in salary for
career staff and only a 1 percent for per diems.

Union organizers say such discrepancies divide departments in
two, creating interoffice conflicts and ill will.

“It is hard to have a unified voice because the per diems
are vying for different things than the career. This is a
union-busting technique that only helps the university and hurts
the employees,” said American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees organizer Brian Rudiger.

Per diems say co-workers treat them as unequals, despite the
university’s perceptions.

The Respiratory Therapy Unit feels the full pressure of the per
diem controversy, with more than 50 percent of its employees
falling into the category, reported representatives of AFSCME.

Carlos Yanes came to work for the Medical Center straight out of
college, taking what was offered, which was a per diem position.
After two years ““ and with a 3-year-old daughter for whom he
can not provide benefits ““ he is looking to go career. But
the option isn’t there.

“Maybe in a year, if I still haven’t been hired then
I will have to look to other hospitals because I really need to
convert,” Yanes said.