A large banner adorns the outside of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. It reads, “Ranked #1 in California.”

It’s true – UCLA’s flagship hospital regularly receives accolades that put it among the most prestigious hospitals in the country.

But according to the hospital’s physicians, patient care at California’s top hospital is suffering because of understaffing and unresponsive hospital leadership. Those allegedly poor conditions have led UCLA doctors to join a UC-wide unionization effort.

UC doctors launched the labor unionization campaign, called UC Doctors United, in July. It could potentially be the largest unionization effort of attending physicians nationally.

Physicians don’t typically participate in unions. That, to the UC, should signal how dire the problem really is.

While change at a large institution takes time, the University must listen closely to healthcare staffers when they raise concerns about patient care – and commit to timely, actionable steps to improve both patient care and working conditions.

A lack of proper support for doctors is directly linked to patient safety. If a unit is understaffed, like UCLA physicians have reported, each physician’s ability to provide adequate services to their patients may be in danger.

The University has a responsibility to remedy undue labor burdens for the employees that make the No. 1 hospital in California run.

If the UC wants to continue having the best hospitals in California, it must reprioritize those who make it so great: its workers.