As important as negotiating strong contracts is enforcing them, and in 2010 UAPD has had great success in holding Los Angeles County to the terms of our contracts. Vigorous contract enforcement protects doctors, those with specific grievances as well as all others, since every grievance that is resolved can prevent a similar problem from arising for others in the bargaining unit.
In one case, a well-respected doctor in the bargaining unit was given an evaluation by his supervisor which did not reflect his knowledge or skills. Initially the department refused to address the doctor’s objections, so UAPD filed a grievance on the doctor’s behalf. USC managers initially tried to defend the evaluation, but Dr. Stephanie Hall, the CMO of the hospital, agreed with the objections made by UAPD and redrafted the evaluation herself. She also recommended that USC management receive training in proper procedures for doing evaluations. Both the Union and aggrieved doctor appreciated Dr. Hall’s willingness to rectify the situation.
In a second grievance filed on behalf of a Los Angeles County doctor, UAPD completed all steps of the internal grievance procedure before submitting the case to an outside arbitrator for a decision. The County had used the implementation of the new pay scale as an excuse to change the classification of another well-respected doctor to one with a significantly lower pay rate. UAPD demonstrated that the work of the doctor fell within the scope of his original, higher paying classification. As a result, the arbitrator ordered the County to reinstate the doctor to the original classification and to make whole any loss of compensation suffered as a result of the improper designation