NY hospital residents and fellows win right to unionize

Residents and fellows at Montefiore Medical Center have won the right to unionize following a rejection from the hospital in November. The interns and residents committee at the Service Employees International Union made the announcement Thursday on social media.

The residents and fellows announced their intention to unionize in the fall and asked Montefiore to voluntarily recognize the union. When the hospital rejected that proposal days later, the process moved to a National Labor Relations Board ballot election.

Related: Nurses at 2 NY hospitals ratify contracts

According to the SEIU committee, more than 80% of the residents had voted to unionize as of Thursday.

The residents and fellows had said during the fall that they were looking to work with the hospital on bettering staff ratios and reducing the number of hours they typically work per week from 80 to 70 in order to ease burnout.

“After being one of the last programs in the Bronx without union representation, winning a seat at the table and joining our unionized peers is long overdue,” Dr. Isuree Katugampala, a third-year pediatrics resident at Montefiore, said in a CIR release Thursday.

Their effort is part of a national trend toward unionization among medical professionals. It also mirrors local efforts at other hospitals where professionals have sought better staffing ratios and higher pay. Members of the New York State Nurses Association at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital won historic contracts after striking for three days in January.

Now that the residents and fellows have elected to join a union, the bargaining process can begin. Montefiore representative Joe Solmonese said the hospital will conduct the negotiations in good faith.

This story first appeared in Crain's New York Business.