Dwaine Duckett, vice president of UC human resources, issued the following statement today (March 14) regarding AFSCME’s announcement that it will ask patient care technical employees to participate in a five-day strike March 24-29, 2014:
Unfortunately, perpetuating conflict by threatening patient care at our
medical centers has become a recurring bargaining tactic for AFSCME
leaders. This is patently unfair to the people we serve and our other
dedicated hospital workers. Our patients are not bargaining chips, and
strikes are disruptive to the entire medical center community.
Despite
this latest move by union leaders, we remain steadfast in our
commitment to achieving a fair contract for our employees and bringing
these negotiations to a close as quickly as possible. In fact, we are
back at the bargaining table with AFSCME today, working hard to settle
this contract. We call on AFSCME leadership to do likewise.
It
is time to end this cycle of conflict, and conclude these negotiations
which have dragged on for far too long. Our employees deserve to
receive the raises and good benefits we are offering without further
delay.