Monday, May 4, 1998
Dental school restructuring fuels concern
DENTAL SCHOOL: Union fears reorganization may be preparation for
layoffs
By Kathryn Combs
Daily Bruin Staff
A plan to restructure the UCLA School of Dentistry has raised
concern among employees who remember all too clearly last year’s
sudden layoff of lab technicians.
The proposed plan would divide the school into five collective
bargaining units, organized by skill and need, said Kathleen Kiser,
assistant dean of finance and administration with the UCLA School
of Dentistry. Currently, all dental school employees are members of
a single unit.
A collective bargaining unit is a group of employees who
negotiate with their employers during labor disputes.
While union officials and employees argue this move could
potentially make it easier for the university to lay off employees,
dental school officials argue it will benefit both the employees
and the school.
"When we look at the bargaining unit structure we look at it
based on the function of the units, the staffing skills involved
and the funding of each group," Kiser said.
Under the current bargaining unit, there are factors, such as
seniority, that are taken in to account when layoffs or budget cuts
are proposed.
Employees who have been with the school longer are not typically
at risk for being laid off first.
As a result of this plan, the School of Dentistry would be
divided into five separate units: general and speciality clinics,
off-site dental centers, sections and dental research institute,
sub groups and internal administrative structure.
"The skills and needs for each unit differ dramatically
sometimes, and our goal is certainly to create units that have
commonalities," Kiser said.
However, union representatives and dental school employees are
viewing this action as a threat.
"(Restructuring) is great for them when they want to downsize,"
said Lyn Kelly, an administrative assistant with the UCLA School of
Dentistry. "I think they already know what they are going to
do."
"Sure, they are going to get a few people griping but that’s the
cost of doing business," she added.
However, before changes can be made in the terms of employment
for clerical employees, the university needs to negotiate with the
union first, said Claudia Horning, statewide vice president of the
Coalition of University Employees (CUE).
Last December, CUE took over representation of the clerical
employees in place of the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Since CUE has neither negotiated a
new contract or adopted AFSCME’s old contract, any changes proposed
by the university affecting the terms of employment for clerical
employees must go through the union first.
During this time, termed a status quo period, CUE has the option
legally to negotiate any change in the dental school that may
potentially affect clerical employees.
Potentially, close to 300 dental school employees could be
affected by restructuring. "Right now, because we are in this
status quo period, we’ve demanded to bargain in this
restructuring," Horning said.
University officials have yet to respond to union requests for
information regarding restructuring.
"It is our understanding that they should be frozen because
we’ve requested to bargain," Horning said.
However, dental school officials are arguing that restructuring
has nothing to do with layoffs.
"People are concerned about being laid off,"said Rory Hume, dean
of the school. "I feel that they do not fully understand what we
are doing. They must realize that we are supporting our staff and
our work for the people of California."
Kiser empathized with the concerns of the employees and asserted
the school’s intentions were being misunderstood.
"If the employees are anticipating major layoffs … then they
would be looking to see that seniority is a key issue," Kiser
said.
"We don’t look at it from that standpoint. We are trying to
align and create structures that make sense," she added.
Officials with the school argue five units will make it easier
for employees to fulfill their job requirements because their needs
as employees will be met.
However, employees and union members argue layoffs are not in
their interests. They argue that five layoff units will make it
easier for the administration to fire who they want and without
consideration to factors such as seniority.
"Often people hear ‘layoff units’ and immediately they think
global layoffs," Kiser said. "We are doing it for what is best for
the school of dentistry."
According to Hume no layoffs are planned as of yet.
"What is intended is the organization of our support system in
the best possible way to meet our program needs," Hume said.
"I believe that (restructuring) is a key element to ensure the
optimal efficiency of the use of our resources," he added.
Employees and union representatives are concerned, however,
about the implications of reorganization. Many believe the
restructuring of the layoff units will eventually lead to a merger
with the medical school.
"If you look at the medical center’s history … it was really
clear that they had a plan all along to layoff (and) they denied it
up to the moment they started to lay people off," Horning said.
"Clearly their primary intention is not the public good," she
added. "A merger that would cause large layoffs and could possibly
affect patient care doesn’t seem as though it would be beneficial
to the people we represent and the public they are supposed to be
serving."
According to university officials there are no plans for a
merger.
An informational meeting is scheduled between dental school and
union officials on May 8.