Patient care and service workers at UCSD Medical Center at Hillcrest marched outside the center, carrying signs and demanding better wages and quality of management from the University of California on May 20. The rally was one among the many demonstrations held throughout the state at the nine UC campuses. The workers, represented by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, are in negotiations for new contracts with university officials.
“We’ve been trying to work out these issues with the university for a year now and they haven’t been going anywhere,” Kimberley Carter, assistant director of AFSCME 3299, said. “So we’re out here, not just here but every campus in the state, to rally and to show the university that we’re serious.”
Among some of the key issues raised by the demonstrators during the rally included increasing retention, better pay, fair rules concerning layoffs during a time of budget cuts and giving workers the opportunity to advance through training and education. According to organizers, approximately 2,000 UC workers demonstrated throughout the state, with about 100 picketing at the UCSD Medical Center at Hillcrest. Union representatives presented their demands to the office of UCSD Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Richard Liekweg.
“We strive to fairly compensate and reward all of our employees, and we offer an impressive array of benefits and opportunities for our workforce,” UCSD Director of Health Sciences Communications Leslie Franz said. “However, in a poor economy, it is difficult to offer the level of salary increases possible when the budget is stronger.”
AFSCME 3299 represents patient care and service workers, including custodians, food service workers, radiology technicians and medical assistants. According to Carter, the workers would like the opportunity to receive training in order to advance their careers and to have a better pay system based on seniority.
“Some of the janitors, if they have the desire to be a registered nurse, should be able to receive training so they can make an investment in their future,” Carter said. “Currently, pay is based on an archaic merit system, where if you get along with the supervisor, they can improve your pay, but if you don’t get along with them, you might not get a raise at all … We want pay based on seniority.”
According to a statement released by the UC Office of the President, the recent budget cuts have resulted in unavoidable cutbacks.
Recognizing the current financial situation of the university, AFSCME 3299 workers have demanded the reform of policies in order to stop bonuses and raises for top UC executives during a time of enrollment caps, student fee increases and service cutbacks, union representatives said.
At UCSD, recently appointed UCSD chancellor Marye Anne Fox will receive $70,000 more than her predecessor, Robert C. Dynes.
According to UCOP, chancellors and other campus administrators, as a group, have received the same general salary increases as systemwide staff with a 2-percent increase in 2001-02 and 1.5-percent increase 2002-03 and zero percent in 2003-04.
“Salaries for UC chancellors continue to seriously lag the market and we are having to increase salaries for new chancellors because unless we do so, there’s no way we can attract the caliber of person we need to maintain institutional quality and competitiveness,” UCOP spokesman Paul Schwartz said.
Many of the workers demonstrating at UCSD Medical Center stressed that the wages they receive do not meet cost of living increases and that they have not received a raise in over two years.
“We all still do a critical job for the hospital,” said Rafael Martinez, a custodian for the medical center’s environmental services department. “We should all at least be given a decent pay that we can survive on. San Diego County is very expensive … gas prices are going up, rent’s going up, even the price of milk is going up.”
Workers also claimed that different departments have been short-staffed due to recent budget cuts and that they are receiving the same wages for increased amounts of work. According to Denise Myers, who works at the medical center’s registration finance department and is an AFSCME member, the university is not providing adequate pay for the work done by its employees.
“I see a lot of injustice here,” Myers said. “There are a lot of particular people that have been working a long time and have not been given the same benefits, with some working overtime, more than their job description, and I don’t think it’s fair.”
According to Carter, the union will continue to pressure the university to comply with its demands throughout the ongoing contract negotiation process.
