Nearly three months to the day after social worker Alberto Rangel was fatally stabbed at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, more than 100 of his colleagues today gathered at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center in Mission Bay to protest what they feel is a tepid response by UCSF following his death.
The rally was called by UPTE-CWA 9119, the union of professional and technical employees at the University of California, which represents about 23,000 workers. Medical workers at general hospital’s Ward 86, the HIV/AIDS clinic where Rangel worked, are employed by UCSF.
Rangel’s fellow social workers cited a recent union survey that found that 90 percent of UPTE social workers reported having experienced physical, sexual, or verbal threats, assaults, or intimidation.
“We know staff feel unsafe,” said Matias Campos, the union’s executive vice president. “The mayor has been responsive. The city and public health [department] has been responsive. But not our own employer.”
UCSF countered claims of a lax response.
“Within 24 hours of the tragedy, UCSF sent counselors from our Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) to ZSFG, offering in-person counseling and support throughout the day and evening as staff gathered to grieve,” read a statement from a spokesperson. “These counselors also participated in the initial all-staff meeting with UCSF and DPH leadership on December 5. And over the past several months, UCSF leaders have worked closely with DPH to make meaningful security improvements for our staff.”
UCSF also sent a lengthier statement.
Joi Jackson, a social worker and former colleague of Rangel’s, said she loves her job — ”I am working in my calling” — but said it has come with risk.
“It’s very challenging to be working with this population. You have patients who are psychotic,” she said.
She recalled a time she once used a garbage can to shield herself from a violent patient, eventually escaping to a safe room at the clinic. She hid there until police arrived.
Jackson says staff at the mental-health and substance-use ward deserve greater support.
When the speakers finished around 1 p.m., protesters walked across 16th Street to UCSF’s Mission Hall, home to the chancellor’s office. Police flanked the doors to the building.
“UCSF is not taking our concerns seriously, and what we want is for them to meet with us,” Campos said.
The protesters demanded that the chancellor come out, but they were told he was not currently in his office. Instead, they delivered a letter.
“This whole thing is so, so frustrating. It’s crazy to me that they’re staffing this many police; we’re not going to react in an aggressive or obstructive way,” said Alex Alvarez, the social worker and first-responder when Rangel was stabbed last December.
Alvarez hasn’t worked since Dec. 4, the day of the stabbing. He says he now suffers from PTSD and chronic back issues.
Since the stabbing, he hasn’t always been able to sleep through the night. He says that he’s only able to collect two-thirds of his original income. After the two initial weeks off, he’s had to tap into PTO, including sick pay.
“This is not me asking for a thank you, this is not me asking for charity or anything,” Alvarez said. “UCSF has done nothing to acknowledge the sacrifices I made that day.”
MORE PROTECTIONS FOR CLINICIANS AND FRONT LINE STAFF AT DPH AND UCSF!
UCSF owns property all over SF and Berkeley, and they know it so they behave arrogantly and assume they have impunity in the municipalities where they are located.