Judge issues injunction on Nov. 20 union strike

A superior court judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday morning, prohibiting 49 essential patient care workers at University of California medical centers from participating in a planned union strike.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 union, which represents more than 22,000 service and patient care workers in the UC, announced earlier this month that it would strike on Wednesday to protest alleged unfair labor practices. The union has been in stalled contract negotiations with the UC for more than a year, after turning down several offers.

On Monday, the University announced it would seek an injunction limiting the number of workers allowed to participate because such a strike would threaten public health and safety.

In May, when AFSCME went on a similar strike, a judge issued an injunction that limited the number of workers by about 450 people.

This time, the injunction calls out 49 people by name, prohibits specifically these “essential” employees from joining the strike and prevents union leaders from encouraging the employees to participate.

Six UCLA medical center employees – all respiratory therapists – are included on the list of employees in the restraining order.

The University has already postponed some surgeries, such as pediatric surgeries and neurosurgeries, that were scheduled for Wednesday in anticipation of the planned strike, according to the statement. Diagnoses and treatments may also be delayed.

“Striking is not the answer. It will only hurt patients and drive us farther apart,” said Dwaine Duckett, UC vice president of human resources in a letter to the union Tuesday. “UC has demonstrated its commitment and ability to work through issues and reach an agreement, as we did with two other unions last week. I am hopeful we can do the same with AFSCME, which would not only serve your members but will ensure that our patients and students continue to receive the critical services they depend on.”

The University is making plans in advance to ensure patient safety and sufficient care during the strike.

Todd Stenhouse, an AFSCME 3299 spokesman, said Monday that the union had already planned when it announced the strike to exempt dozens of its workers responsible for critical patient care – including several respiratory therapists across the UC.

AFSCME’s strike in May caused the postponement of 25 percent of surgeries at UCLA over the course of two days and cost the University about $15 to $20 million.

Compiled by Katherine Hafner, Bruin senior staff.