At the University of California, Low Pay for Workers, Big Bucks for CEOs

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/30/at-the-university-of-california-low-pay-for-workers-big-bucks-for-ceos/

by Mike Hall, Jan 30, 2008

Several thousand patient care workers at University of California (UC) medical centers and thousands of other UC service workers are paid significantly less than workers at other hospitals and universities in the state. But top executives recently pocketed big raises and bonuses, according to a new report.

The Center for Labor & Community Research and The Partnership for Working Families report finds that the UC workers, members of AFSCME Local 3299, are paid about 25 percent less than the “market rate” for similar workers in their communities.



The workers are seeking wages comparable to those paid for similar work outside the UC system. In addition, the workers want UC to create a step-increase system for wages, as well as the right to bargain over health care and to have a voice in the pension system. Following five months of difficult negotiations, the issue is now in mediation.

Leticia Garcia-Prado, a medical assistant at the UC Davis Student Health Center, told the California Aggie student newspaper the workers “can’t keep working with these salaries that they’re trying to give us.”

Garcia-Prado, who has been employed by UC for 10 years, says many patient care technicians remain employed for only one or two years before leaving for other employers with higher wages. Due to a worker shortage resulting from the high turnaround, Garcia-Prado said UC requires patient care technicians to work mandatory overtime after a regular eight- to 10-hour shift.

FULL story at link.

[Cleita]

1. This is a situation where I have mixed feelings about unions.

I used to work at UCLA. At the time we were deemed employees of the State of California and had excellent benefits and reasonable pay and automatic pay raises. When the unions started coming in and making union shops of each department, the employees were no longer subject to the rules that the State of California had for employee pays and benefits. It all became barter and what the unions could get in the way of concessions from administration. Administration, of course took advantage of the situation, and departments that had formerly received automatic pay raises stopped getting them while the non-union departments continued to get them. Each time the union had to go in and barter and often unsuccessfully. Our Blue Cross health care became Kaiser Permanente (not as good then) and so on.

So I didn't find that the unions improved the situation at the University of California. I'm not anti-union, as a matter of fact am very pro-union, and I know many of my co-workers voted to get a union in my department so that they would have someone to take complaints to from sometimes abusive managers and faculty. Somehow the union leaders though didn't bargain to keep the benefits for the employees that they had started out with. Maybe they did it because they were anxious to get a foothold in the university.

I don't know how they can get the benefits back but it seems to me that it would be imperative to keep the mostly Republican run administration in their place as it appears the employment situation has deteriorated since I was there.

[Omaha Steve]

2. Thank you for your side of the story

Are you active in the union? Sounds like you should be an officer. Please come back to our forum often.

[Cleita]

3. I'm retired so no, I'm not active. n/t