UPTE-CWA Vet Techs Fight for Fido and Their Futures

Last week, UPTE-CWA Animal Health Technicians (AHTs), along with other members, supporters, and allies, rallied outside the University of California-Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) against chronic understaffing. Members say the crisis has reached a point where two techs can be responsible for the care of more than sixty patients. Emergencies are turned away, preventable tragedies occur, and the stress is driving talented workers away.

At the country’s top-ranked animal hospital, AHTs make approximately $15 per hour less than their counterparts at regional specialty and emergency clinics. At the same time, University of California (UC) veterinary hospitals set benchmarks for patient care and training not only around California but also across the country. AHT’s treat roughly 50,000 animals annually, including household pets, livestock, and exotic creatures.

Workers at VMTH are fighting the same low pay, high turnover, and sub-optimal patient outcomes as other members across the UC healthcare system and vow to continue the fight until their demands for better pay, better working conditions, and better care for patients are met.

Last week also marked an important victory for the union as members were able to reverse a layoff. The university terminated Luis Baquera, a System Administrator at UC Riverside, sending Baquera and his wife scrambling. The IT specialist had worked for the UC for over twenty years. Said Baquera, “After months of bracing for the worst, I was back to work just weeks after my "final" day. This is the power of being willing and able to stand up against unjust decisions in the workplace. This is the power of having and enforcing a strong contract with layoff protections. This is the power of our union.”

UPTE-CWA is now calling for layoff reversals for two other members: John Salinas and Sandi Pearson, both workers at UC Irvine. Click here to add your name to the UPTE-CWA petition for reinstatement.

 
Members of UPTE-CWA at the University of California-Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital held a rally in protest of understaffing, poor pay, and high turnover currently impacting patient outcomes.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.