UCI Hospital Food Workers Fear Layoffs

Workers and managers at UCI Medical Center’s nutrition-service department are up in arms over reports that hospital executive director Mary Piccione is considering contracting out all cafeteria, catering and patient meals to a private firm.

They fear such a move could force layoffs of about 100 longtime UCI employees, most of them women and minorities, and they have gathered petitions from more than 700 doctors, nurses and other hospital staffers protesting such a move.

Piccione was out of town Wednesday, and other medical center administrators declined to comment.

Medical center employees say Piccione met with cooks, other cafeteria workers and their supervisors May 29 but failed to allay workers’ fears, some of their leaders said.

Another meeting between Piccione and nutrition-service workers or their representatives is scheduled for Monday, according to Peggy Scotnes, representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 10, which represents the employees.

Scotnes and other representatives of food service workers say they don’t understand why Piccione would want to dismantle one of the more cost-effective, well-run departments at the deficit-ridden hospital.

“If it’s not broken, why fix it?” said one food service employee who asked not to be named.

Scotnes and other workers said they realize the hospital needs to cut expenses, but they did not understand why hiring a private contractor would help. The medical center--the only one of five UC hospitals that operates in the red--is expected to lose about $12 million in the 1989-90 fiscal year, although Piccione has been working to stem the losses.

In addition to their worry about the food service workers, union leaders fear that if Piccione succeeds in contracting out nutrition services, she may do it in other departments, including possibly housekeeping, where 150 people are employed.

Said Scotnes, “If they succeed in any small department or large department, we see that it could be a domino effect; other departments could go.”

Also concerned is Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange). Kevin Parriott, Lewis’ administrative assistant, said the assemblyman “is investigating the situation, the status of the hospital in general and the employees with questionable futures at the hospital.”