Several hundred USC University Hospital workers went on strike Wednesday, picketing outside the Keck Medical Center of USC. Workers who went on strike include certified nursing assistants, X-ray technicians, and housekeeping staff.
The National Union of Healthcare representing the workers state they have been in negotiations with the hospital for over a year. The union is demanding the workers have a better say in how the hospital is staffed. The union claims there is a serious short-staffing problem, a one year freeze in wages, and the workers are excluded from the university's tuition and retirement benefits plan. There are additional issues as well. A respiratory technician, Noemi Aguirre stated, "we have a lot of units where we are just plain short-staffed and they haven't addressed those issues for us." Aguirre also commented, "One sticking point deals with patient care committees, which are set up by union workers so they have a voice in patient care."
The National Labor Relations Board in Los Angeles will address the workers demands later this month. Hospital spokesman Mitch Treem stated, "While we are unable to discuss the specifics of our proposal publicly, we can say that our NUHW employees are among the highest paid in the region."
With the recent hospital worker strikes, including the 34 hospitals in Northern California, mistakes can be made. One such tragedy occurred during the recent nursing strike at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, where a cancer patient died after a temporary replacement nurse mistakenly administered the wrong medication to the patient. Dr. Bruce G. Fagel, a licensed medical doctor and medical malpractice attorney was quoted by the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times, September 26, 2011, "having replacement or temporary nurses working in hospitals for extended periods increases the risk of medical mistakes that harm patients."
