WALKOUTS HIT HOSPITAL WAGE INCREASE SOUGHT AS STAFF TAKES DISPUTE TO STREET.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - More than half of the staff at county-run High Desert Hospital stayed away from work Tuesday, the last day of rolling walkouts by unionized county employees picketing for better wages.

The management staff and other workers kept the hospital running, but the one-day strike by health workers shut down county clinics in Lancaster and Palmdale that jointly serve about 250 patients a day.

``The Antelope Valley clinic and the Palmdale clinic were both closed for providing services. They were providing referrals only,'' said John Wallace, spokesman for the county health services department. ``High Desert doesn't have an emergency room. It's a little different. They don't have patients entering the system through the ER. There you had management and those who reported to work taking care of patients and providing patient care.''

Close to 100 health service workers, including nurses, technicians and clerks, braved cold winds to picket along 60th Street West outside High Desert Hospital, holding green and purple signs and blowing whistles.

``I am picketing for more money and more benefits to be able to take care of my family,'' said Cassandra Alexander, a substance abuse counselor from the Acton Rehabilitation Center. ``I'm a single mother. I provide services to patients, and I can't afford my own mortgage.''

Wallace said county physicians showed up for work at High Desert, which on a daily basis has more than 70 patients. There were 60 patients at the hospital Tuesday.

Of the 286 people scheduled to work Tuesday at High Desert, 155 did not report to work, Wallace said.

High Desert Hospital, the Acton Rehabilitation Center and the Lancaster and Palmdale clinics were among the county health facilities hit by the one-day strike Tuesday, the eve of a threatened countywide strike.

County officials went to court Tuesday, seeking an injunction to prevent the total shutdown of county offices scheduled for today.

The work stoppages were organized by Service Employees International Union, Local 660, which represents 47,000 county workers.

The workers want at least a 15.5 percent raise over the next three years to make up for years they went without raises, but the county is offering 9 percent.

The union also objects to making $10 to $15 copayments for doctor visits and $10 for filling a prescription.

Sarah Speck, union steward and supervising typist clerk at High Desert, said workers made sacrifices in the mid-1990s to keep High Desert from closing when the county's health system was on the brink of financial collapse.

``They tried to close the hospital. We went to bat to keep the hospital open. In doing that, we gave up a lot of raises to make sure the facility stayed open and provided services,'' Speck said.

Olivia Garcia, a 10-year employee at High Desert who works in tuberculosis control, said she took a demotion and a $300-a-month cut to keep her job.

``I'm a single parent. I've got two kids at home. We need a roof over our heads and food in our mouths, and we have to pay for light and gas. Everything is going up but our salaries,'' Garcia said. ``We are not asking too much. We are not asking enough.''

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(color) County workers take their wage dispute to 60th Street West on Tuesday as out of 286 people scheduled to work at High Desert Hospital, 155 did not report. Management staff members and other workers kept the hospital running, but the walkout did shut down county clinics in Lancaster and Palmdale.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer