Two picket lines planned for the upcoming week in the Westside region at a pair of University of California (UC) medical centers was averted Sunday morning, as UC administrations and the labor union representing patient care technical workers reportedly reached a tentative agreement Sunday morning.
The eleventh hour accord means there will be no picket lines in front of UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica Hospital between March 24 and 28.
“This weekend, the University returned to the bargaining table in a spirit of good faith, and we were able to not only avert a strike—but to reach a tentative contract agreement that 13,000 University Patient Care Technical Workers have sought for nearly two years,” AFSCME Local 3299 president Kathryn Lybarger stated. “This proposed agreement reflects compromise on both sides, improves safety in UC Hospitals, and honors the important contributions that Patient Care Technical Workers make to the UC Health system every day.”
Patient care technical workers alleged the health system of engaging in unfair labor practices.
Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) had announced March 21 its members would be striking unless an agreement was reached prior to the picket line’s start time at 4 a.m. Monday morning.
According to Todd Stenhouse of AFSCME Local 3299, both sides engaged in a marathon negotiating session this weekend to come to terms.
Patient care technical workers agreed to a four-year deal with the UC health system and, according to union leaders, includes fair wage increases, secure benefits, staffing protections, and pension reform.
The agreement replaces the terms governing the health system’s patient care technical works since last summer, when UC administrators reportedly “withdrew its 11th hour demands for sweeping new layoff powers, known as ‘emergency’ call offs.”
The labor union will vote to ratify the accord on March 26 and 27.
AFSCME Local 3299 planned picket lines at seven UC Medical Centers and Hospitals across the state had agreement not been reached, including the two UCLA campuses in Westwood and Santa Monica.
Under the supervision of nurse practitioners or physicians, patient care technicians often take vital signs of a hospital guest.
