UC optometrists, eying better working and care conditions, show up in force to speak out at a UC Regents meeting

Waiting months to receive eye care can cost you your sight or your life. At the University of California, optometrists work hard to provide world-class eye care and evaluate, improve, and preserve the vision of patients—but those services are compromised when patients have to wait for access to care due because UC can't attract or retain qualified clinicians. 

For months, optometrists have been bargaining with UC for an agreement that properly recognizes market conditions for the important work they do. Unfortunately, management has been dragging their heels—motivating optometrists looking for ways they could speed up the pace at the bargaining table.

In the face of mounting challenges and united in their fight to improve patient care, optometrists showed up in force to a recent UC Regents Health Services Committee meeting to make a bold statement about the important work they do and their need for fairer workplaces. Among the speakers was Jennifer Ding, an optometrist at the UC Berkeley campus and UPTE member, who delivered a powerful speech highlighting the crucial role of optometrists in the healthcare system:

"My name is Jennifer Ding. I am an optometrist at the UC Berkeley campus, and we are here today on behalf of all optometrists working for the UC Optometrists, our front-line essential workers at the U.S. medical Centers and campuses. Optometrists are often the first providers to catch life-threatening issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetic retinopathy, and tumors. And you shouldn't access is critical. Waiting months to receive eye care can cost the patient their vision or their life. Many times, patients are referred to us by other healthcare facilities since we are the experts in handling those complex cases.

Like many, we work in expensive cities with high costs of living. Yet the compensation the UC offers has not caught up. This has caused recruitment and retention issues, which in turn has meant we are working longer with more cases and in some instances calling patients on our own time. We need the UC to come to the bargaining table with a proposal that reflects reality and to engage in real good-faith bargaining. This is why we are here today to present you, Dr. Drake, with our photo petition and ask the UC works towards settling our negotiated actions by making a substantial, if real, offer that is in keeping with the market reflects the highly skilled workforce and would bring us closer to resolving the circumstances that we have raised today."

It's plain to see—UC optometrists and their patients deserve better. Stay tuned for opportunities to support optometrists in the coming months!