DOCTORS STRIKE AT UCSD

January 28, 2015 (San Diego) - Doctors at University of California student health centers went out on strike Tuesday, including physicians who picketed at UC San Diego.

It’s rare for doctors to strike, in part because most are not unionized.  But on campus, the doctors are members of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.  So doctors wearing white coats held protest signs on campuses across California.

Union members voted for the one-day strike over disagreements with management on how the UC health centers should be operated. The doctors have diagnosed a problem with the system, which allots only about 15 minutes per patient, even for students with multiple medical issues or mental health concerns.

UC San Diego reports that doctors at UC campuses also earn significantly less than their colleagues in the private sector, which makes recruitment and retention of physicians challenging.