On February 17, more than 1,400 residents and fellow physicians of the University of Pennsylvania Health System asked the health system to voluntarily recognize their union.
They will be represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU). CIR is a local union of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and represents 24,000 internal employees nationwide. This makes it the largest union representing residents and scholars in the country.
Penn is the eighth group of residents to join the CIR in the last 11 months and, if successful in unionizing, it will be Pennsylvania’s first syndicated residency program.
Unionization efforts began early in the pandemic, after in-house staff were denied their usual cost-of-living raise. In addition, they turned to unionization as a solution to the problems they had after months of unsuccessfully trying to get the hospital management to improve working conditions and patient care.
“As residents, we have very little power to improve working conditions or address important patient care needs through official channels. But through our union, we will have a seat at the table to drive the changes we need to better make our work,” explained third-year internal medicine resident Dr. Jackson Steinkamp.
The culture of overwork, low wages, and rising cost of living are driving residents to burnout, depression, and suicide.
“We chose to train at an academically rigorous and highly respected institution, but we expect more from Penn than a fancy name. We are human beings first and foremost,” says third-year Family Medicine resident Dr. Chantal Tapé.
He added: “If we are sacrificing our physical and mental health, our financial stability and our personal relationships to provide care, that means our healthcare system is failing.”
Residents also believe unionization will help advance healthcare equity in West Philadelphia, home to Penn’s main medical campus.
The city has highest burden of disease Pennsylvania and its citizens have the least access to basic necessities like affordable childcare and good-paying jobs.
Dr. Madison Sharp, OB/GYN Resident, stated, “We serve one of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable patient populations, who already face enormous barriers to accessing healthcare. We are deeply committed to our patients, many of whom are of whom have complex illnesses. We do these patients a disservice when we are not provided with what we need to be the best doctors we can be.”
Penn residents and fellows would not be the first in the Philadelphia healthcare field to unionize. Both the Temple North Anesthesia Coalition (T-NAC) and Wills Eye’s specialist nurses and technicians have ratified their first or new contracts in recent months.