A three-day strike involving more than 15,000 University of California (UC) radiology technologists and other patient care workers officially took to the streets yesterday, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
The UC workers are joined by 24,000 other union members—including workers from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), physician assistants and other members of the University Professional & Technical Employees-CWA 9119.
All 10 campuses and five medical centers will remain open during the strike and UC medical centers have trained replacement workers to step in.
AFSCME is asking for a six percent annual raise per year plus additional payments over four years; UC is offering three percent plus a onetime payment of $750 after a contract is ratified, according to the Times.
The union has rejected the university’s demands for higher healthcare premiums and wants to stop outsourcing, which AFSCME spokesman John de los Angeles claims had led “to a loss of middle-class jobs and growing pay inequity among workers”. UC and union workers have also come to disagreements about UC’s spending on outside contracting and the increase in UC workers over the last five years.
Read the Los Angeles Times’ entire article below.
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.