UC has filed an unfair labor practice charge against a patient care employees' union to protect patient privacy and safety rights at the University of California's five medical centers.
University of California officials announced Feb. 20 that UC has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the union that represents approximately 11,000 UC patient care technical employees.
UC's charge was made in response to the union's failure to bargain about reasonable parameters for the union's distribution of leaflets to patients and visitors outside UC medical centers. UC has longstanding policies about leafleting for any purpose near its medical facilities. These policies balance free speech rights with the need to provide safe access to the facilities and protect the privacy and safety rights of patients and their families, UC officials say.
The union violated its agreement with UC to follow these reasonable access policies and instead went to court to prevent UC from enforcing these longstanding policies and practices. The union bypassed the Public Employment Relations Board, which has the authority and responsibility to regulate access issues and bargaining conduct.
UC believes the union's actions demonstrate a failure to bargain in good faith, a refusal to participate in impasse procedures in good faith, and a disregard for patients and their families visiting the medical centers.
In the past few months, AFSCME has attempted to raise concerns regarding the quality of care provided by the UC medical centers.
In reality, all UC medical centers have repeatedly been recognized for providing outstanding patient care:
- • UC Davis Medical Center ranked among America's Top 50 Hospitals for the 15th consecutive year in 2007, according to US News & World Report, and was rated one of the nation's top hospitals for quality and safety by the Leapfrog Group.
- • UC Irvine Medical Center ranked 12th among the nation's best public universities by US News & World Report, and was rated one of the nation's top hospitals for quality and safety by the Leapfrog Group.
- • UCLA Medical Center ranked as one of the top three American hospitals in 2007 — and the best hospital in the western United States for the 18th consecutive year, according to a US News & World Report survey that reviewed patient outcomes data, reputation among physicians and other care-related factors.
- • UC San Diego Medical Center is the only San Diego hospital that ranked among the best in the nation in six specialties in the 2007 US News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" issue. UCSD Medical Center also received full accreditation from The Joint Commission after passing a recent survey by The Joint Commission, California Department of Public Health and Institute for Medical Quality.
- • UCSF Medical Center ranked in the top 10 for overall quality — among premier academic medical centers nationwide — by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC). The medical center was named No. 1 by UHC for serving a diverse patient population in terms of gender, race and socioeconomic status and eighth in patient-centered care. Last year, the medical center center received full accreditation from the Joint Commission, a nonprofit agency that evaluates and accredits health care facilities nationwide, and ranked No. 7 among the nation's top 10 hospitals in the annual ranking by US News & World Report.
Throughout the past six months of bargaining with the union, UC has proven its interest in reaching an agreement for our patient care technical employees. As part of the University's ongoing commitment to recognizing the contributions of its employees, UC medical facilities have a proven record of offering some of the most competitive compensation and benefits packages available in today's health care market.
UC and AFSCME are currently in mediation with a state-appointed mediator, which UC hopes will help achieve an agreement.
Related Links:
UCSF Medical Center Strives to Improve Patient Care Quality, SafetyUCSF Today, Oct. 23, 2007
