Overview

• About 1,300 healthcare workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers walked off to oppose UCSF Health’s Integration Plan, which would move them onto UC payrolls with higher health and retirement contributions effective July 6.
• Union leaders contend the plan nullifies existing contracts and cuts take-home pay by forcing thousands more in benefit contributions.
• UCSF officials insist no terminations will occur and say mapped placements into UC positions will grant employees access to a more valuable pension and comprehensive benefits.
• Lines have formed at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and its Shadelands Drive outpatient center in Walnut Creek, leading to the suspension of most outpatient services while the emergency department remains open.
• The strike adds a new phase to a decade-long dispute since UC’s 2014 acquisition and coincides with UCSF’s $1.6 billion effort to modernize East Bay pediatric facilities under a unified system.