Workers and unions urge Regents to reverse layoffs, protect health care and wages

Dozens of University of California employees and union representatives told the Board of Regents at its July meeting that recent layoffs and contract proposals are harming workers, patients and campus services. Speakers from multiple campuses described recent layoffs at UCSD and other locations and argued that contract decisions — including a reported proposal to remove caps on employee health-care cost increases — would worsen staffing shortages and jeopardize patient care. Nurses, resident physicians, custodians, library staff and other employees gave personal accounts. Catherine Mullahian, a nurse at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical…