Resident Unions Part 2: Getting Organized

Unions have a long and storied history in the United States – but not within the house of medicine. Yet as the practice of medicine has become enveloped by business interests, unionization is taking root. More than 22,000 resident physicians belong to unions as of 2022. Where do you start if you want to organize? Part 2 of this series dives into those details.

Overview
EMRA*Cast host Matt Dillon, MD, (@mdmd_8889) follows up on the unionization process with Stanford resident Monica Sheridan, MD. During Part 1 of this series, Dr. Dillon covered the various reasons why resident unionization could be beneficial for residents. Today, he speaks with Dr. Sheridan about the finer details of how residents might initiate the unionization process.

Take-Home Points

• The process of unionization is relatively straightforward. It begins with a petition of the residents and is followed by a formal election. In order to move forward with unionization, a simple majority is required.
• Don’t go it alone! If you are considering unionization, reach out to the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR).
• More than 22,000 residents are unionized nationwide. It’s more common than you might think.
• Residents are valuable yet vulnerable. They often have little say over the terms of their contract, but they provide meaningful labor to their hospitals.
• Unions provide residents with the ability to pursue collective bargaining, which is the negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an organized body of employees.

Resources

• Bowling III D, Richman BD, Schulman KA. The Rise and Potential of Physician Unions. JAMA. 2022;328(7):617-618.
• Lin GL, Ge J, Pal R. Resident and Fellow Unions: Collective Activism to Promote Well-being for Physicians in Training. JAMA. 2022;328(7):619-620.
• Suen LW. A Seat at the Table. Acad Med. 2022;97(7):952-953.
• Boetel R. Residents complained before loss of accreditation, UNM says. Albuquerque Journal. Dec. 15, 2019.
• Committee of Interns and Residents: Resident Labor Union Website. https://www.cirseiu.org/.
• Brajcich BC, Chung JW, Wood DE, et al. National Evaluation of the Association Between Resident Labor Union Participation and Surgical Resident Well-being. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(9):e2123412.
• Weiner S. Thousands of medical residents are unionizing. Here’s what that means for doctors, hospitals, and the patients they serve. AAMC. June 7, 2022.
• Christ G. More physicians seek unions amid changing landscape, COVID-19. Modern Healthcare. July 20, 2022.