Union Protesters Interrupt U.C. Board of Regents Meeting
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — More than a dozen U.C. medical workers barged into the U.C. Board of Regents meeting Wednesday as part of a protest over working conditions at hospitals.
As unions and administrators continue to negotiate a contract, 13,000 workers ranging from MRI techs to orderlies will walk off the job next Tuesday and Wednesday, including at U.C. Davis.
"We're hoping to get across that we mean business," said MRI technician Randall Johnson. "We want to take care of our patients."
Outside the meeting, around 100 union protesters were picketing, united in their message that medical support staff inside the hospitals are being overworked.
"Workers are working themselves to the bone," said Lawrence Scinta, a radiation therapist at U.C. San Diego Medical Center.
"They are cutting patient care, they're cutting corners on patients, all to preserve these bloated executive entitlements. That's unacceptable," said union representative Kathryn Lybarger.
Dwaine Duckett is in charge of human resources in the UC system. He says there's no problem with patient care, rather the problem is the union's refusal to contribute more to their pensions.
Meanwhile, he's planning on how to handle a walkout.
"We are going to make sure that our patients are safe," he said.
