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Teamsters Tell Rady: Don’t Put Patient Care at Risk
(SAN DIEGO) – Over 400 medical technicians at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California, are continuing to carry out medical support functions, despite the expiration of their contract at midnight on Thursday, June 30. The technicians, along with 1,200 nurses, voted to affiliate with the Teamsters in April.
“We are committed to serving the children who are patients at Rady, as well as their families,” said Katie Langenstrass, Executive Director, United Nurses of Children’s Hospital (UNOCH), Teamsters Local 1699. “We love the work that we do. But the hospital needs to understand that in order for its staff to provide the best possible care, they cannot be overworked to the point of exhaustion.”
Rady wants to be able to force its medical technicians to work mandatory overtime and more weekends than ever before.
Randy Cammack, President of Teamsters Joint Council 42 in Southern California, pledged ongoing support for the medical technicians.
“Rady hospital workers take care of our children and our communities. They must be able to do their work safely, and they need to be able to take care of their own families. We stand in solidarity with our members at Rady, who know that they have the power of 1.4 million Teamsters behind them.”
The Teamsters Public Services Division represents over 35,000 medical and health care professionals across the United States.
Rady is the largest children’s hospital in California based on admissions. While it’s a non-profit pediatric hospital, its excess margin (or “profits”) since 2012 has been between 10-15 percent, while the national average for non-profit hospitals is about 5 percent. Despite this excess, some state licensed technicians make less than $15.00 per hour.