Thousands Of Employees Strike At UC Hospitals

A three day strike by workers at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento starts Tuesday. It'll affect the campus in Davis too.

The main strike is by 15,000 patient care technical workers at all five medical centers throughout the state, people like radiation technologists, patient transporters, nursing aids, almost anyone who isn't a doctor or nurse, according to AFSCME Local 3299, the union organizing the strike. 

But they'll be joined — in solidarity — by about 24,000 other workers on UC campuses, including groundskeepers, security guards, food service workers and truck drivers.

One consequence of the strike is that the Mondavi Center at UC Davis has canceled Tuesday night's performance by world-renowned dance company Wang Ramirez, saying the center does not have sufficient personnel to put on the performance.

AFSCME Local 3299 represents 25,000 service workers. The union called the strike after the union and the university couldn't agree on a new contract and mediation efforts failed.

The same issue prompted a three-day walkout by 53,000 UC workers last May, including custodians and cafeteria workers. Nurses and other medical workers walked out then in sympathy.

The union representing medical workers says the strike is in protest over UC outsourcing jobs to contractors that pay low wages. But in a statement, UC said the union is demanding an 8 percent annual wage increase which is unrealistic.

UC says it'll do everything in its power to limit the negative impacts of the strike on campuses and medical centers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.