Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

About 15,000 Strike At University Of California Hospitals

October 24, 2018 By Associated Press

About 15,000 medical workers on Tuesday started a three-day strike at five University of California medical centers amid a dispute over pay raises and job security, forcing the cancellation and rescheduling of thousands of surgeries and outpatient appointments, officials said.

The workers that included radiology technicians, respiratory therapists and pharmacy workers picketed the medical centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Irvine, and Davis. They rang bells, wore green-shirts and carried signed that said “End Outsourcing.”

Another 24,000 other California union workers, ranging from truck drivers to gardeners and cooks, were striking in sympathy, said John de los Angeles, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299.

Emergency rooms remained open at the hospitals but officials said the strike would still affect thousands of patients.

Medical workers and supporters rally outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. About 15,000 medical workers start a three-day strike at five University of California medical centers amid a dispute over pay raises and job security, forcing the cancellation and rescheduling of thousands of surgeries and outpatient appointments, officials said. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The UC San Francisco hospital rescheduled more than 4,000 appointments at its medical center and two associated clinics and rescheduled 241 surgeries, including “pretty high-risk” gynecological and colorectal operations, said chief operating officer Sheila Antrum.

Ten patients, including children, were sent to other hospitals, she said.

The hospital had 500 temporary employee replacements on hand, including respiratory therapists, social workers, pharmacists and housekeepers, she said.

“My focus here is that we get through everything with the usual great care we have,” she said.

The union said some of its workers would keep working despite the strike to ensure patient safety, and it also has a “patient protection task force,” a group of emergency services staffers who are prepared to cross the picket lines if they are needed to work because of a medical crisis, de los Angeles said.

Patient care workers have been without a contract since December. Talks and mediation efforts have stalled, and the university plans to impose new employment terms next month, de los Angeles said.

The union wants the university to stop outsourcing low-wage work that it claims is fueling widening income, racial and gender gaps for workers at UC’s hospitals, clinics campuses and research facilities.

The same issue prompted a three-day walkout by 53,000 UC workers last May, including custodians and cafeteria workers. Nurses and other medical workers walked out then in sympathy.

“They’re destroying what were once career pathways to the middle-class for our state’s diverse population and are damaging the quality of service that we provide to students, patients, and everyday Californians,” Monica De Leon, vice president of AFSCME Local 3299’s Patient Care Technical Unit, said in a statement.

A University of California statement said union leaders spread false information about outside service contracts and that the number of unionized patient care workers increased nearly 19 percent over the past five years while outsourcing contracts had stayed relatively flat.

The employment deal to be implemented next month would grant 3-percent-a-year raises for the next 4 years for patient care and service staff, as well as offering a health plan at the same rates as other UC employees with similar salaries.

The union, however, is demanding an “unrealistic and unreasonable” 8 percent annual wage increase that is nearly triple what other UC employees have received, UC Office of the President spokeswoman Claire Doan said in a statement.

The statement accused union leaders of “throwing a tantrum … putting their agenda above the needs of patients, students and the public.”

But de los Angeles, the union spokesman, said the new employment terms do nothing to deal with the threat of replacing union jobs with cheaper outside contractors who are ill-paid and lack benefits.

“What good is a raise if our job is allowed to be outsourced tomorrow?” he said.

Related Articles Read More >

An illustration showing the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system's valve being placed in the heart. [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]
The top nitinol cardiac medtech news of 2025 (so far)
A photo showing the Dualto Energy System's modular design with two generators stacked for two users at a time.
What J&J MedTech’s new Dualto says about the OR of the future — and Ottava
An illustration showing the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system's valve being placed in the heart. [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]
Q&A with Darshin Patel, who led the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 TMVR system’s development
A photo of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy used for medical devices such as stents, heart valves, catheters and orthopedics.
What is nitinol and where is it used?
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe