UCSF's Integration Plan: A Financial Earthquake for Oakland Hospital Workers

BOOM! The federal judge has just dropped a bombshell on the 1,300 Children’s Hospital Oakland workers. The integration plan is a GO! UCSF Health is moving forward with its controversial plan to cancel union contracts and rehire workers as direct employees. This is a seismic shift that will rock the financial stability and job security of these dedicated healthcare professionals. The union is fighting back, but the legal battle is just beginning.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? UCSF Health’s integration plan is not a merger, but it’s a power play that will transfer about $20 million out of the pockets of its East Bay workforce into its own coffers. Most employees at Children’s Hospital Oakland will be transferred into UC unions whose contracts leave workers with less money primarily because they are required to pay thousands of dollars more toward their health and retirement benefits. Dozens of workers, whose jobs are not represented by UC unions, would lose union representation altogether.

THIS IS A NO-BRAINER! The transition threatens to further reduce services at the Oakland hospital as workers consider leaving or retiring rather than starting over as UCSF employees with less take-home pay, no seniority, and the potential of being assigned to work at a UCSF hospital in San Francisco. The quality of care provided to patients is at stake here. This is a financial earthquake that will shake the foundations of healthcare in the East Bay.

DO THIS! Stay tuned for the next developments in this legal battle. The union is proceeding with a motion seeking to compel arbitration over whether the integration violates its contracts with the hospital. That hearing is scheduled for July 17 before U.S. Chief District Court Judge Richard Seeborg. The union is also pursuing injunctive relief through the National Labor Relations Board. This is a fight for the future of healthcare in the East Bay, and it’s far from over.