Newly unionized resident physicians and fellows at Stanford Health Care in California will see a 21% pay increase over 3 years after reaching their first contract with the health system.
The tentative deal for about 1500 physicians also includes paid rideshares, fertility benefits, and a new grievance process, the Committee of Interns and Residents , a local of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement.
Union spokesperson Annie Della Fera said that residents and fellows will vote on the tentative deal through December 19. If approved, the contract will begin immediately.
All house staff will have access to app-based transportation services such as Uber and Lyft for when they are too fatigued to drive home safely after long shifts. House staff will also have a $20,000 fertility benefit package, which covers treatments for infertility and fertility preservation, including freezing eggs, Della Ferra told Medscape Medical News.
Stanford's residents and fellows unionized by a vote of 81% in 2022 after mobilizing after the system's 2020 failure to give them shots during the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations.
The health system apologized and reportedly blamed an algorithm for the vaccine debacle. It went on to fight the unionization effort by sending mailers instructing residents how to vote no and emails detailing how disappointed it was in trainees.
"We organized because we knew the exploitative nature of medical training needs to change — for both us and our patients," David Dupee, MD, MBA, a third-year resident in psychiatry, said in a statement. "Resident working conditions and patient care are inextricably connected. We are proud of the precedent this sets, not only for current and future residents at Stanford, but also for our colleagues unionizing and negotiating at hospitals across the nation and the patients that we all serve."
Stanford's residents and fellows face one of the most expensive housing markets in the country: The median price for a Palo Alto is about $3.1 million, and the average rent for an apartment is about $3400.
In recent years, the Committee of Interns and Residents has unionized residents and fellows in Massachusetts, Vermont, and elsewhere in California. In January, about 5000 residents and fellows at the University of California Health system finalized a contract offering a 16% pay raise over 2 years.
In a statement, Stanford Healthcare (SHC) said that "together with the union, we worked hard to reach an agreement that reinforces our commitment to house staff and their continued education and clinical training. This agreement not only includes competitive wage increases and an expanded yearly housing allowance, but it maintains the market-leading benefits already in place for house staff, including free health premiums and no co-pays or deductibles through SHC providers, education allowance and sick leave."
Randy Dotinga is a freelance medical reporter and board member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.
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