By Arj Arjunan
Daily Bruin Contributor
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees tabled outside the Jules Stein Eye Institute on Wednesday
as part of an ongoing effort to protest understaffing at the UCLA
Medical Center.
Union organizers passed out flyers in front of the Medical
Center and urged passersby to sign a petition addressed to
Chancellor Albert Carnesale in support of the union.
The flyers displayed the results of an AFSCME survey circulated
among union members on the hospital staff.
According to the survey, 68 percent of the employees are given
work that is impossible to complete, and 49 percent said patient
care has suffered due to short staffing.
AFSCME said it wanted to gain public attention because the
Medical Center has not responded quickly enough.
The union has been meeting with hospital administrators over the
last few weeks, but there has been little progress, said Kim
Carter, an AFSCME organizer. She said the tabling that went on
Wednesday was the only wayto get the hospital’s attention.
"I think the tabling went really well," Carter said. "A lot of
people participated because they want to provide the best care for
patients."
Mark Speare, senior associate director for patient relations and
human resources for the Medical Center, said the Medical Center has
always maintained contact with the union. He also said the tabling
would not affect negotiations.
"We’ve met face-to-face or talked over the phone with AFSCME at
least a dozen times," Speare said. "I spoke with the statewide
coordinator for AFSCME and agreed that we need to include AFSCME in
the new model."
According to Speare, the Medical Center plans to implement a new
model that will remove patient transport, supply distribution and
care-related responsibilities from the general job description of
USA staff. The hospital also plans to cut the existing number of
full-time USAs from 101 to 90.
Speare said USA staff responsibilities will be more specialized,
adding that the Medical Center is putting a training program in
place for USAs interested in gaining promotions as patient care
partners.
Ever Mazariegos, a patient care partner at the Santa Monica
branch of the hospital, said gaining public attention offers a
stronger bargaining position for AFSCME. He said a public protest
in July forced the Medical Center to acknowledge the pay disparity
between Santa Monica and Westwood staffs.
The issue of pay equity has been discussed for years, Speare
said. He said the July tabling efforts did nothing to change the
commitment of management to resolving the problem.