Officials say strike will cause no disruption at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center
MID-CITY Months of contentious negotiations over wage increases and improved health care for the 8,500 service workers with the University of California boiled over into a strike on Monday with hundreds of employees walking out on their jobs at the 10 campuses and medical centers statewide, including in Santa Monica.
Approximately 20 service and patient care technical employees based out of the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital went on strike, joining the hundreds of workers protesting what they call “poverty wages” offered by the UC, picketing outside of the various university centers, including in Westwood and Irvine.
The strike was called despite a court-issued restraining order last week, prohibiting a walkout, something that university officials have pointed out in their criticism of the strike.
“We’re disappointed that the union has chosen to ignore the court order and we continue to get the word out to our employees that the strike is illegal and that we hope and expect them to report to work as scheduled,” Nicole Savickas,the spokeswoman with the UC Office of the President, said.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents the service and patient care technical workers (PST) employed by the UC, has been fighting for a new contract that would include a $15 minimum wage, up from the current floor of roughly $10 an hour. The university is bargaining with the PST and service workers separately.
Union leaders point out that approximately 96 percent of service workers are eligible for at least one of a handful of federally-assisted programs, including WIC, public housing and food stamps. They add that while a $15 minimum wage will not pull many of the employees out of poverty, it will go a long way toward providing an enhanced quality of life.
“We’re asking for people to be able to live and come out of poverty,” Lakesha Harrison, the union president, said.
The latest proposal offered by the university includes a minimum wage increase from $10.28 an hour to $11.50 or $12,depending on the center.Service workers at the Santa Monica medical center would receive $11.50 an hour, Savickas said.
University officials are also proposing a step-based salary structure, a component requested by the union. The walk-out seemed to have little disruption in Santa Monica where the vacated slots were filled by replacement staff, according to hospital spokesman Ted Braun.
“We have not had to cancel any surgeries or procedures and our emergency room is open and available as needed to serve the community,” Braun said.“It was a very small percentage of the total number of union members that actually participated.”
The hospital employs more than 1,600 employees, only 736 of which are represented by AFSCME. The total participation equaled about 2.7 percent of the union members at the medical center, Braun said.
“We anticipate business as usual throughout this week and value the contribution of our staff members who make it to the hospital,” he said. “We encourage the AFSCME members to come back to work and go back to the bargaining table to work on negotiating a new contract.”
Employees who walked out spoke of financial challenges in light of rising gas and food prices, some saying they are struggling to support their families.
Ever Mazariegos has worked in Santa Monica as a patient care worker for the past 10 years, honoring the picket line even though his bargaining unit has not called a strike.
“We’re tired of it,” Mazariegos said as he stood next to a pile of picket signs outside of the medical center. “They are playing games with us, saying they’ve made a good offer, but it’s nothing.”
It’s a sentiment expressed by many AFSCME members,including Willie Lusung,a service employee who has worked in housekeeping in Santa Monica for nearly eight years.
The father of three children makes roughly $11 an hour.
“We’re underpaid by this hospital,” Lusung said.“The gas prices and rent are too high, but the salary is the same.”
Union leaders argue that their requests can be met, pointing out the six-figure salaries afforded to university executives, including new president Mark Yudof, and the estimated $9 million needed to repair Kensington Mansion, the home of the UC presidents.
“That $9 million alone could’ve gotten workers the $15 an hour minimum wage,” Harrison said. “We see stuff like that and it’s really hard.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 15, 2008. Read the original PDF.