UCSD library and patient-contact centers face layoffs; unions urge leadership to reverse cuts
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Summary
Teamsters and other workers told Regents that UCSD has imposed multi-year budget cuts to library services and health call centers that are resulting in layoffs; they asked UC leadership to hold the campus accountable and explore alternatives to permanent staff reductions.
Multiple UC employees and union representatives used the public comment period on July 17 to describe planned layoffs and deep budget cuts at UC San Diego and UC San Diego Health and to ask Regents to intervene or review alternatives.
Catherine Cobb, president of Teamsters Local 2010, said 27 UCSD Geisel Library workers are facing layoffs after a 20% library budget reduction over three years. "These cuts have already harmed students," Cobb said, and she called the layoffs "unnecessary." She added that recent and planned layoffs across UCSD Health'including 21 UCSD Health plan layoffs and 21 CS unit hospital employees'reflect management choices around spending and acquisitions, not unavoidable budget shortfalls.
Separately, callers and staff who identified themselves as PCC (patient contact center) employees asked the Regents to investigate working conditions tied to "permanent backup queues," schedule adherence metrics and staffing shortages that they said reduce patient care quality and increase stress. Consuelo Aon and others described being added to permanent backup queues without adequate staffing or documentation time. Catherine Romero, speaking for a PCC urology and OBGYN team, said management prioritized "service levels and their numbers" over patient care.
Maria Reyna Adams, a UC San Diego library worker and Teamsters Local 210 member, described being given a one-week deadline to accept a voluntary layoff while she had scheduled surgery, and said the early forced separation will cost her thousands in retirement value. She asked Regents to review the process, extend timelines, and improve communication.
Speakers asked Regents to hold campus leadership accountable and to review alternatives to permanent layoffs, including preferring pre-qualification language in construction contracts that include healthcare for the workforce and exploring alternatives to service-level driven management at call centers. Regents acknowledged the concerns and asked staff to follow up; no formal action was taken at the meeting.