CLS Members at UCI Win Fight Against Dangerous Mandatory OT
Short-staffing, weekend shifts, missed meals and bathroom breaks, and now mandatory overtime? If it were up to UC Irvine management, this would have been the reality for clinical laboratory scientists at UC Irvine. There was just one thing missing from their calculus—the collective power UPTE members have in our union.
When workers got the notice announcing that management was asserting the right to implement mandatory overtime, forcing these people into unexpected 10-12 hour shifts, we said no way. UC’s justification? That people were taking too much sick time. What did they expect after months of working people ragged due to inadequate staffing?
The stakes are high. When people are overworked and understaffed, mistakes happen—and not small, routine mistakes, but potentially a patient receiving the wrong kidney or something similarly serious and potentially life-threatening.
UPTE members immediately got organized. We circulated a petition in our laboratory which garnered overwhelming support and outlined the dangerous risks for patients and the tremendous personal toll that these policies were having on workers. UPTE leader Melissa Morris, who has worked in the lab for 14 years and never seen mandated OT before, then delivered the petition to management. She had her colleagues from the lab, who were unable to take a break, on the phone with her so they could chime in with their support as well.
The petition that Melissa delivered clearly laid out the tremendous risk this policy posed for safe patient care, saying: “When patients do not have access to experienced and well-staffed labs who can effectively manage their specimen, the risk of errors rises. This results in longer hospital stays, increased wait times, and higher mortality rates, as prolonged hospitalization is a leading risk factor in health systems. We believe that by addressing these issues promptly, we can cultivate a more motivated and committed workforce, ultimately benefiting UCI Health and improving the safety, integrity, and outcomes for our patients.”
After entering into effects bargaining with UC and challenging this outrageous policy through direct action, UPTE members successfully got management to back off on implementing this policy. If they broach the topic with us again, it will be under the condition that on-call pay be on the table, as well.