Close to 700 USC University Hospital Workers On Strike Tomorrow for 24 Hours
What: 24-hour strike by close to 700 caregivers at Keck Medical Center of USC (formerly USC University Hospital)
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 12th, beginning at 6am. Picket lines from 6am – 6pm. Strike for 24 hours.
Where: USC University Hospital, 1500 San Pablo St., Los Angeles (Follow this link to a map of the location: http://g.co/maps/7qvgn)
Visuals: Hundreds of caregivers marching with picket signs, many wearing scrubs or lab coats.
LOS ANGELES – Close to 700 employees of Keck Medical Center of USC (formerly USC University Hospital) will strike for 24 hours tomorrow, Wednesday, October 12th, beginning at 6am.
USC caregivers have been bargaining with the hospital since August 2010. Workers are asking that management agree to provide frontline caregivers with a contractually enforceable means of addressing short-staffing problems that compromise patient care. To date, their proposal to protect patients has been rebuffed by hospital administrators.
Even though the university holds a $2.9 billion endowment and the hospital generated $3 million in profits in the last fiscal quarter alone, management has proposed implementing a one-year wage freeze on hospital workers. The hospital further insists on continuing to deny caregivers the same family tuition assistance benefit and retirement plan that they recently agreed to for the hospital’s Registered Nurses, who are members of the California Nurses Association, and that is available to almost every other university employee.
The federal government has issued complaints against Keck Medical Center management for several unfair labor practices, and has scheduled a hearing on them for October 24th.
NUHW members at USC include Respiratory Care Practitioners, Radiology Technologists, Surgical Technicians, Housekeepers and other job classifications.
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