Tues/Wed Strike

[Carrie Schiff]

Hi Everyone,

13,000 UC patient care techs & others are going on strike Tuesday & Wednesday because of a failure to address unsafe staffing putting patients & workers at risk. Also at issue are cuts resulting in poverty-level pensions for workers while management grows disproportionately and administrators continue to increase their pay & bonuses. A report (commissioned by the union but done by an independent firm) found that patient care is already suffering. For example, at UCSF this January respiratory care in the hospital had to be rationed because of inadequate staffing, while funds were being diverted for construction of the fancy new hospital. The California Department of Public Health has cited UCSF and other UC hospitals for serious violations jeopardizing patient care. This is while UCSF is laying off experienced workers and increasingly using inexperienced temps.

This is a big deal and a great opportunity to make it known that you aren't OK with UC's increasingly messed-up priorities. This affects us as students, potential patients at UCSF, and as nurses/NPs providing care within this system. 

You can show your support by joining the picket line. At the least, please don't cross the picket line. This means it's OK to go to class in the school of nursing but not setting foot in the medical center (including cafeteria). Go through the side door (CS or UC Hall entrances - 521 or 533 Parnassus) to go around to get to the school of nursing. Spread the word!

Carrie

Dear classmates and colleagues at UCSF,

As many of you know, the UC patient care technical workers represented by AFSCME have voted for a statewide 2-day strike next week on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 21st-22nd. The strike will affect all UC hospitals. AFSCME workers in UCSF campus buildings will also be on sympathy strike.

Please watch this video for more info from the union:
AFSCME TV: UC Hospital Strike

The AFSCME workers have been in negotiation with the UC hospital adminstrators for months. They have faced repeated layoffs while hospital profits and administrator salaries have soared.

This is an opportunity for us to show our solidarity with the workers who form the backbone of patient care in our hospitals. I realize that many of you may not have had much experience with union organizing in the past, and you may feel unsure or uncomfortable with how to respond to the strike. Please get in touch with us if you want to discuss any of this (contact below).

Below is a list of things you can do to support the workers.

1) Wear green (AFSCME color) and pick up an AFSCME pin to visually show your support. Then talk to as many people as possible about why you support the workers. One major talking point is that this all goes back to patient safety and treating our workers with dignity and respect.

2) Join the picket line!!! Click the link below to sign up on the google doc for a two hour shift. Take as many shifts as you want. It really means a lot for the workers to see active support from health care providers and students. Wear your white coat or other symbol of your profession.

 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1prFCtZTa6fVIdXhTuTpWfvrFE9prV5NSKZ3xNeHtAO0/viewform

 

 

3) Refrain from crossing the picket line. Ideally, this means not entering the hospital during the strike. At the very least, please do not actively walk across a picket line! We ask you to check in with your own conscience about how to respond to a strike. This won't be the last time that we face this situation in our careers. If you have classes, small groups, or labs, don't go. If you are on rotations at a hospital affected by the strike, it will take courage to step out of the daily routine and expectations to stand with the workers. 

As we see it, there are two categories of concern that students might have. The first is that our educational requirements dictate that we be in the hospital. The truth is that you may face some minor consequences for being out, but in the big scheme of things your education will not suffer from missing two days. The second concern is about patient safety. The bottom line is that this strike is about improving patient safety and working conditions. If we stand with the workers now, it may inconvenience the hospital for 2 days and cost them in lost profits, but the pressure exerted on the hospital will lead to improved patient safety and better care in the long run. Also, please consider that your presence in the hospital during the strike will be used against the workers and will make the strike less effective. You will be asked to do work that should be done by union workers and/or help to train scab workers. If you decide that you must be at your shift because your absence will directly jeopardize a patient's care, then please consider joining the picket line before and after your shift.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Josh Connor, MS3, joshua...@ucsf.edu

Maria Cardenas, RN, mcar...@ucsf.edu