Venice, CA - On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, healthcare workers gathered outside the Venice Family Clinic on Rose Street to advocate for fair wages. The demonstration, organized by Teamsters Local 2010, aimed to highlight the contributions of clinic workers and their request for equitable compensation.
Venice Family Clinic workers assist seniors, disabled individuals, and non-English speakers through the healthcare process, from insurance approvals to successful treatments. Despite their roles, many workers are paid close to minimum wage, with some earning as little as $21 per hour after more than 15 years of service.
The protest noted that 44 Community Health Program Representatives (CHPRs) have recently joined Teamsters Local 2010. Although they began negotiations with the Venice Family Clinic in May, the clinic has not yet addressed their pay concerns to their satisfaction. The clinic's proposal to start most workers at step 1 of a 17-22 step salary scale has been criticized for not resolving existing pay inequities.
Stephanie Aguilar, Teamster Union representative and Chief Negotiator for the Venice Family Clinic CHPRs, spoke at the protest. Aguilar stated, "We added about 42 new bargaining unit members last May 2023 and have been in negotiations ever since. The university has failed to negotiate in good faith, only giving us the second proposal this week. They want to bring very senior workers, who have been with the company for over 20 to 30 years, to the lowest pay on the grid, similar to a brand new worker. Meanwhile, many new workers are coming in at higher steps and higher pay grades."
Aguilar emphasized the commitment of long-term workers, saying, "The university is failing to negotiate in good faith and offer fair wages to these workers who have been committed to this community and this clinic for all of their careers. It’s just really unfair."
The demonstrators called for Venice Family Clinic to align CHPR salaries with those of other clinic workers throughout UCLA and Venice, advocating for compensation that reflects the cost of living in Los Angeles. The protestors distributed flyers and encouraged the public to support their cause by signing a petition advocating for fair wages for CHPRs.
Aguilar also mentioned solidarity with other local unions, noting, "We are out here protesting with our sister local UPI, who is in the same situation. They got about 40 workers created into their unit at the same time and finally brought them up into our classifications as Teamsters, but only back to August, while we got them in May."
The Teamsters have filed unfair labor practice charges and plan to continue rallies and petitions. Aguilar concluded, "All of our bargaining team is on board to get this contract done. Venice Family, it's in your shoes now. We'll see what happens tomorrow when we go back to the table."
For more information and to support the petition, visit the webpage titled "UCLA: It's Time for a Living Wage at Venice Family Clinic! actionnetwork.org/petitions/u...
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