Safeguarding Our Work From  Contracting Out

Each year, we fight to protect our members’ work. Current contracting practices often hand over vital work performed by our members to for-profit businesses. Unfortunately, many of the transparency and accountability standards that apply when public workers deliver services do not apply to private companies. While government is ultimately responsible for delivering public services, private contractors are accountable to their shareholders and are not required to disclose important decision making processes to the public. While not all for-profit companies providing public services are bad actors, under the false pretense of maximizing efficiency, some often undercut industry pay standards and deliver substandard services at a higher cost to taxpayers without performing better work.

AB 1538, authored by Assembly Member Rob Bonta and sponsored by AFSCME California and AFSCME Local 206 the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), builds upon past legislation to better protect UAPD member jobs from being contracted out. In 2013, UAPD sponsored AB 1008 (Buchanan) which prevents Alameda Health System (AHS) from contracting with another entity or person until January 1, 2024 to replace services being provided by physicians and surgeons at AHS who were in a recognized collective bargaining unit as of March 31, 2013, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the service can only be delivered cost effectively by that other person or entity. AB 1008 was intended to preserve the bargaining unit and ensure the continuity of services being provided by the physicians and surgeons in the bargaining unit.

This year, AFSCME California worked with the Affiliate and Assembly Member Rob Bonta’s office to clarify the intent of AB 1008’s author and sponsor by removing the March 31, 2013 date from statute. AB 1538 effectively extends the protections put in place by AB 1008 to all physicians and surgeons who are employed by the hospital authority and in a recognized collective bargaining unit, irrespective of when they joined that bargaining unit.

This measure was signed into law on September 23, 2017 and put into effect immediately to
prevent any further contracting out of our members’ jobs and guarantees that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and transparently. AFSCME is proud to stand behind legislation that not only protects our members livelihoods, but ensures the quality of health care services delivered to the public are not compromised through the privatization process.