Nearly 1,200 resident physicians at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) have formed a union as members of the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU Healthcare), joining a growing number of physicians across the country fighting for improved working conditions, the ability to negotiate union contracts, and resident-run efforts to improve patient safety and resident well-being.
Since 2016, residents at UCSF have been organizing to form a union — on top of their demanding duties as resident physicians. UCSF residents are frontline providers and the backbone of the hospital, therefore it is critical to have a strong labor-management partnership in order to best serve the thousands of patients who depend on UCSF for their patient care services. UCSF residents know it is imperative that the institution adapts to the needs of its resident workforce in order to ensure that they are well-equipped to serve their patients and community.
“Knowing I’m one of the thousands of CIR residents dedicated to improving the lives of their patients and their working conditions gives me hope that I, along with my fellow residents, can make a difference in the American healthcare system and in my patients’ lives,” said Dr. Latoya Frolov, a Psychiatry resident at UCSF and one of the leaders on the CIR Organizing Committee.
It’s more important now than ever that residents join together, especially in the setting of so much sociopolitical unrest and threats to healthcare. CIR, the largest housestaff union in the country, is the vehicle through which residents can fight to preserve and improve patient care and the future of our residency programs.
“We are looking forward to bringing our collective experience as providers on the frontlines of healthcare directly to the medical center in order to affect positive change for the systems in which we work, the patients we serve, and the resident physicians and fellows we represent,” said Dr. Michael Losak, CIR Regional Vice President from the Emergency Medicine department.
UCSF is the largest chapter of residents to organize with CIR in over 60 years of existence.
About the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU Healthcare): Founded in 1957, the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU Healthcare) is the oldest and largest housestaff union in the U.S., representing more than 15,000 physicians in public and private teaching hospitals across the country. CIR empowers resident physicians to have a voice in their employment and training and to be advocates for their patients.
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