After five months of bargaining for a successor agreement for University of California patient care technical employees, AFSCME today informed UC that it has petitioned Public Employment Relations Board for a declaration of impasse. While UC is hopeful that the involvement of a third-party mediator will avoid future labor disruptions, the University declined to file jointly for impasse with the union, as University negotiators believe there is still work to be done at the bargaining table.

“The University’s bargaining team has communicated its interest in making additional proposals to the union in the context of a full agreement,” said Howard Pripas, UC’s executive director of labor relations. “However, AFSCME has made it clear that they are unwilling to make any movement toward compromise, and we cannot force them to bargain with us.”

Wages for patient care technical employees have been a key issue throughout the course of bargaining. AFSCME presented the University with a wage proposal that called for increases that would cost UC medical center more than $75 million over the length of the contract. Given the high cost of operating the medical centers and the significant revenue and investment required to maintain and improve facilities and equipment, implementation of the union’s wage proposal would be fiscally irresponsible. The University presented the union with a number of wage proposals that would keep the salaries of patient care technical employees market-competitive; however, the union refused to make any compromise on the issue of wages.

Once PERB certifies the negotiations to impasse, mediation will begin as soon as possible. The University intends to work hard to resolve the impasse.

For more news and information about UC patient care technical employees and their contributions to the community and the University: http://www.ucpatientcaretechs.com