Tuesday, February 18, 1997
PROTEST:
Medical Center workers present proposed alternativesBy Hannah
Miller
Daily Bruin Contributor
In response to the January layoffs of the entire 220-member
staff of the clinical laboratories, Medical Center employees
marched through the hospital into Medical Center Director Michael
Karpf’s office to present him with proposed alternatives to the
layoffs Friday.
Wearing white stickers reading "LAID OFF" in black type and
chanting "No layoffs," the marchers sought to draw attention to
what the Union of Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) feels
is a violation of labor regulations.
University administrators have pledged to rehire 110 in one job
category, the Clinical Lab Technologists (CLTs). For the other 79
layoffs, in the specialist and supervisor categories, the
university has not made any rehiring predictions.
The march started at noon in the first-floor cafeteria on Feb.
14, when UPTE Vice President Cliff Fried said, "We’re in the middle
of a hospital about to restructure itself with $1 billion in tax
money. This is one of the most profitable departments in the
hospital. So why are they cutting jobs?"
The march also coincided with the deadline for the CLTs to
reapply for the positions they’ve held for as many as 10 to 20
years.
"I was up until 12:30 rewriting my application," said Sally
Michael, a laid-off CLT in the toxicology lab. "I never thought I’d
have to do this again after 13 years."
Hospital administrators have been quick to defend the layoffs in
light of an unfair labor practice charge filed by UPTE last week on
behalf of the employees.
"Dr. Karpf will be responding to their suggestions," said Human
Resources Director Mark Speare. "But the actions we’ve taken are
appropriate and in keeping with the needs of cost reduction."
"We just have to get down to the competitive staffing levels
that other hospitals provide," he said.
The unfair labor practice suit charges administrators with
failure to provide information, failure to consult with the union,
and threatening employees with termination if they file
grievances.
"Friends have to compete with each other for the same jobs,"
said Fried. "They’ve eviscerated seniority rights."
Barbara Freed, a Hemotology CLT, just reapplied for her
position. "It’s terrible. Everyone’s pitted one against the other,"
she said.
"I’ve just been to the benefits office to see about retirement,"
she worried aloud, "just in case I don’t get rehired."
Many of the marchers were union supporters from other
departments on campus. One was Jess Daily, the chief studio
projectionist at James Bridge Theatre, and a self-proclaimed "UPTE
charter member."
"Film and Television was hit with restructuring two or three
years ago," he said. "They talk about restructuring and budget
cuts, but the execs get big raises every year."
Laid-off employees also expressed frustration at the manner in
which the restructuring has been implemented.
One CLT in the hepatitis lab commented, "How much profit do they
want? This is not Microsoft. Why are we using sick people for
profit?"
In addition, this CLT (speaking on condition of anonymity) said
that management has threatened CLTs that their blood tests will be
sent to Mexico if they protest.
Changes in patient care could also affect many UCLA employees,
who depend on the Medical Center for their healthcare needs.
"Ultimately, the patients are going to suffer," said Jessica
Goodheart, an UPTE member and a staff researcher in the School of
Public Policy. "I just had my blood taken here. They need to keep
good people. It’s close to us all."
According to employees, such as UPTE’s Recording Secretary
Carmen Rico, who was laid off from the Med Center’s Marketing and
Planning department earlier this month, the specter of
restructuring has affected the workplace.
"I’ve been here nine years, and in the past few years there’s
been a climate of fear," Rico said. "The excuse they’re using right
now is Responsibility Center Management but it’s the same as
usual," she reflected.
The Human Resources department has stated plans to provide
transfer and placement opportunities for employees not rehired in
the labs.
The issue of seniority rights is still a sticky one. Although
Human Resources promises that preferential rehiring rights will
accrue to all those laid off, administrators have said that
seniority cannot be respected because the job classifications have
changed.
Mia Musolan, a health laboratory technician in the microbiology
lab, said that seniority may even work against laid-off employees
who have to reapply. She worries that "seniority has now become a
liability" for those seeking to be rehired.
An even broader question raised by the union is the overall
economic logic of the layoffs. "If you’re producing surplus and
making a profit with what you had, how could you continue doing
that with massive layoffs?" Fried asked.
The university argues that consolidation of the laboratories is
necessary to reduce duplication of work. The clinical and academic
laboratories, previously separate, will now be merged into new
units such as High Volume and Special Testing.
Nine individual grievances have thus far been filed against UCLA
over the layoffs, in addition to the unfair labor practice charge
filed by UPTE last week.
Hospital administrators chalk the restructuring up to an
increasingly business-oriented healthcare market. But labor leaders
feel that trends in the industry do not necessarily require
business-style responses.
As Fried said, "We know there’s change going on." But the point
that UPTE wants to make, he said, is that "it’s very important how
that change is implemented."
Fried suggested that such measures could be avoided by cutting
the work week to 30 hours. "The profits are shared, and everybody
would still be working," he commented.
Both union activists and employees feel that UCLA’s status as an
educational institution is also something to consider.
Musolan expressed concern about the impact of the restructuring
of research and development. "In the area where I work, we are
always asked to run tests on new drugs, even some without FDA
approval," she said.
Her lab will lose one of its two senior specialists who are
licensed to do this work, Musolan said. In addition, she said, the
remaining specialist will be bogged down by new job duties, and
unable to continue this work.
"(Research & Development) is how our lab made a name for
itself because we were open to all these challenges," she said.
The unfair labor charge is still pending before the Public
Employee Relations Board. The layoffs take effect March 31, by
which point replacements will have been hired.
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
Cliff Fried, vice president of the Union of Professional and
Technical Employees (UPTE), addresses protesters in the Medical
Center.