Workers Plan 1-Day Strike At UC Hospitals
OAKLAND (KCBS) - More than 21,000 patient care workers plan to target the University of California with a one-day strike on Wednesday.
The announcement comes just after the UC struck a tentative labor deal with its unionized nurses.
The agreement with the nurses does not cover service and patient-care workers represented by the American Federation Of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.
Hospital Workers Plan 1-Day Strike At UC Hospitals
Union spokesman Todd Stenhouse said that UC failed to bargain in good faith.
"AFSCME has not only withdrawn their proposals and deferred to UC on half of those issues. We've also offered major concessions on UC's wage and pension priorities. We simply just can't compromise on safety," he said.
UC spokeswoman Shelly Meron said the university has bargained in good faith and wants to continue talks.
"They filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board. We believe they have done that as a negotiation tactic," she said.
In a statement from the university, an official asked the union not to use patients and students as bargaining chips.
If the strike goes forward it will affect ten campuses and five system medical centers: UCSF Medical Center, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego.
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