Residents "Stick to Guns," Win New Contract
Triumph Over Adversity in Brooklyn
When CIR members at Brooklyn Hospital began preparing for their contract negotiations this spring, they knew that securing a good agreement would not be easy. The hospital is emerging from bankruptcy proceedings, and the administration signaled that CIR members should not expect too much. Nonetheless, members of the CIR bargaining committee refused to be swayed, and prepared themselves to persist through challenging negotiations until an acceptable and quality settlement was reached.
After several long negotiation sessions, this was finally achieved on July 26, 2007, when the CIR bargaining team reached a contract agreement with hospital administration. The contract, which was overwhelmingly ratified by housestaff in a July 30 vote, awards residents raises averaging 4% per year over its three-year term. It also establishes the first ever Patient Care Fund at Brooklyn Hospital, allowing housestaff to make $10,000 worth of purchases each year in materials and equipment that will benefit patient care. Brooklyn housestaff also won the new benefits of paid paternity leave and a $650 board review reimbursement in their final year of training.
“We understood the hospital’s tough financial situation, but believed our requests were very reasonable,” said Dr. Rajeev Fernando, a PGY 3 in Internal Medicine at Brooklyn, and member of the bargaining committee. “We prepared to stick to our guns during negotiations. In the end, with the 4% raises and board review reimbursements, I feel we made tremendously significant gains in this new contract.”