There are only so many times you can inflate administrative
wages while brushing off the fundamental needs of employees before the “we’re
trying to compromise” line loses its spunk, and the “best in the West” mantra
becomes a deranged mockery of workers who can’t afford their monthly parking
fees. Negotiations press on this month between the
and two different unions: the California Nurses Association and the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The CNA dispute is marked
by a Paid Time Off program that would encourage nurses to show up to work sick,
mandatory shift rotations that would contort fragile sleep schedules and
staggering wage disparities that would mean less compensation for the longest
standing veterans than for fresh college grads. CNA and the university have
moved on to the fact-finding step in their mediation process, but the facts
have already been found and they speak for themselves.
AFSCME representatives fail to understand why recruitment
and retention of patient-care technical employees aren’t higher university
priorities, considering new technicians and nurse’s assistants have no choice
but to turn to co-workers for on-the-job training. In addition, the price of
employee health care is steadily rising, so the prospect of wellness is a
stretch even for those who provide the care.
Few are so cynical as to accuse the university of
deliberately imperiling its employees or perpetuating a high turnover rate, but
as one licensed vocational nurse asked: Is there really a single reason to
remain a UC medical employee? It seems amid its insular bureaucratic games, the
university has neglected this question altogether.
