UMDNJ Residents Win Meal Grievance

UMDNJ-SOM Emergency Medicine residents won’t go hungry in the night, thanks to a huge victory CIR recently won in arbitration against UMDNJ.

“Housestaff at UMDNJ-SOM felt strongly that it was unfair that EmergencyMedicine residents were excluded fromthemeal allowance housestaff in other departments received when they worked overnight or 12-hour shifts,” said Dr.Mark Reutter, a PGY 4 in EM, and CIR leader who was involved in the issue. “After all, we also need to eat! We got together with CIR, and filed a grievance which was resolved October 10, 2008,” he said.

The dispute centered around the meals language in the CIR-UMDNJ collective bargaining agreement.Although the contract requires UMDNJ to provide a meal or $20 cash equivalent to any UMDNJ resident who works an overnight shift of six or more hours, or an extended shift of 12 or more hours, UMDNJ refused to provide this benefit to the EM residents at SOM. UMDNJ contended that EM residents were not entitled to meals because they never worked call. Thus, for nearly two years, the EM residents were denied meals, regardless of the timing and length of their shift.

CIR filed for arbitration with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission and the case was set for hearing before an impartial arbitrator. After analyzing evidence presented by both CIR andUMDNJ, theArbitrator ruled that UMDNJ violated the collective bargaining agreement by refusing to provide meals to EM residents. The Arbitrator found that eligibility was not limited to only those residents who worked call shifts. The Arbitrator also ruled that EM residents who were improperly denied meals during the period of August 2007 to October 2008 were entitled to $20 for each meal denied. CIR’s NJ Area Director Edgar Aracena is working with the hospital and housestaff to ensure that the retroactive meal money is paid.

“This showed me that when we get together, we can win what is rightfully ours,” said Dr. Reutter.