UC Doctors Call Another ULP Strike Starting April 9th

News provided by

Union of American Physicians and Dentists

Apr 03, 2015, 09:00 ET

OAKLAND, Calif. and LOS ANGELES, April 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) has given the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) notice that doctors employed by UC's student health centers will hold Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strikes at all ten campuses starting next week. On the Northern California campuses (Berkeley, San Francisco, Davis, Santa Cruz, and Merced), the strike will begin on Thursday, April 9th at 7:30 am and last until Monday, April 13th at 7:30 am. On the Southern California campuses (Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, Riverside, and Santa Barbara), the strike will begin on Saturday, April 11th at 7:30 am and end on Wednesday April 15th at 7:30 am. Picket line times and locations will be finalized next week.

The student health doctors, who organized their union with UAPD in 2013, are currently bargaining with UC for a first contract. The doctors held a one-day ULP strike in January, in what was the first U.S. doctors' strike in 25 years, but that action was not enough to convince UC to bargain in good faith.

Since starting negotiations over a year ago, UAPD has filed multiple ULP charges against UC with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). The most critical ULP charge against UC is for its failure to provide financial information, which the union needs to bargain fairly on behalf of doctors.

"For more than a year, UC said it could not afford to make the changes needed to attract and retain student health center doctors. Recently they admitted they can afford to improve health care on campus, they just choose not to," reported UAPD President Dr. Stuart A. Bussey. "We continue to push hard for this financial information because we believe UC has enough resources to improve student health care. They can make student health a priority."

SOURCE Union of American Physicians and Dentists