SAN DIEGO -- A threatened five-day work stoppage at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center and other UC medical facilities went into its second day Tuesday.

Custodians, food service employees, landscapers and other workers defied a court order and went on strike Monday in a fight for pay raises and other benefits. Hospital executives said patient care was not compromised by the strike.

The workers who have been picketing UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest, Thorton Hospital in La Jolla and the UC San Diego campus are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union represents some 2,000 workers at UC facilities in San Diego County.

The job action called by the union, which represents about 8,500 employees within the University of California system, also affected medical facilities in Los Angeles, Irvine, Riverside and other cities statewide.

The AFL-CIO and the UC system have been at an impasse over wage levels since April.

Leslie Franz of the UCSD Medical Center said that some union members reported for work, and positions lost to strikers have been covered. Members of other unions did not honor the picket line, she said.

"We're very appreciative that our workplace and employees are really dedicated to patient care," Franz said.

A judge in San Francisco said Friday that the walkout would irreparably harm UC patients, faculty and students, and banned the strike until the union gave adequate notice. But union leaders said that serving formal notice of the strike last Thursday fulfilled the requirement.

Officials at the university system said last week that patients at 15 UC medical centers and hospitals across the state will be endangered if the strike takes place, arguing it should be banned because, they say, the union has not bargained in good faith.

In a statement Monday, UC labor relations executive director Howard Pripas said university officials are disappointed that the union has decided to strike and called for talks to resume.

AFSCME officials said their members are paid "poverty-level" wages -- as low as $10 an hour.

UC officials said they offered a 26 percent pay raise over five years to patient-care employees and raises of about $1.75 to $2 per hour for service employees, depending on the cost of living at each location. The system is also offering enrollment in the same health care and pension system offered all other UC employees.

But the union claims UC wages are dramatically below those paid to community college workers in the state. It says 96 percent of its membership is eligible for food stamps, subsidized housing or other welfare-type assistance despite full-time employment.