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Strike Affects 5 UC San Diego Medical Centers

Healthcare union workers were on the picket lines Monday, affecting some services at five UC medical centers in San Diego.A three-day strike was underway as some union employees across the UC system are negotiating a new contract. The statewide strike is scheduled through Wednesday with some unions participating in whats described as sympathy strikes.UC San Diego Medical Center and four other UC medical facilities in San Diego are open and serving patients despite the strike.To reduce the impact of the strike on patient care, hospital administrators entered a “bypass” mode, meaning emergency calls may be sent to other nearby hospitals. Some patients have been asked to postpone surgeries and appointments.”Patients who may be affected by the strike will be contacted by our patient care teams,” UC San Diego Health Assistant Executive Director of Communications Jacqueline Carr said Sunday via email. “We apologize in advance to our patients and their families who may be impacted.”The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) scheduled the strike.The union’s 24,000 patient-care and service workers voted to authorize a strike after rejecting a proposal from the University system for a 3 percent annual pay increase over each of the next four years as well as reductions in the cost of benefits.The California Nurses Association is expected to join the strike tomorrow though some replacement nurses have been hired and the union says they will have volunteers standing by to go back to work if there’s any kind of emergency requiring their help.UC San Diego said all hospitals in clinics will remain open throughout the strike activity. They suggest patients allow extra time for parking if they have appointments in Hillcrest or La Jolla. There may be changes to lab services. Click here for current schedules. 
Source: NBC San Diego

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