Press Contact: Tricia Piper-Bennett
M: 415-914-5511
E: patricia@telegraphpr.com
Physicians to Board of Regents: We Need A Reasonable Housing Allowance Now
Following 19 months of bargaining, UC Davis Resident and Fellow Physicians Address UC Davis Health’s Exclusionary Policies at UC Board of Regents Meeting
San Francisco– UC Davis Resident and Fellow Physicians, represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU) plan to testify at Wednesday’s UC Board of Regents meeting regarding the hospital’s refusal to negotiate a reasonable housing allowance aligning with increased rental costs in Sacramento.
Over 30 bargaining sessions and 19 months later, UC Davis Health’s administration still insists that Sacramento has adequate $800 1-bedroom apartments for medical residents to rent. In reality, rent rose another 7.5% in February 2021 to average $1,882 per month.
In an April Sacramento Bee article, Dr. Anokh Sohal, a second-year UC Davis psychiatry resident, told the reporter: to “residents of color, first-generation students whose parents don’t come from a good financial background or have lower socio-economic status, this matters.”
UC Davis’ Resident and Fellow physicians need a fair housing allowance to keep them close to the hospital without risking their safety or patient care. Their peers at UCLA and UCSF have successfully negotiated housing allowances that subsidize one-third of their yearly housing costs. To date, UC Davis Health has offered an annual $2,000 equating to $167 per month, roughly 9% of the average annual rent.
CIR-SEIU members at UC Davis are continuing to fight for contract parity with other hospitals in the UC system.
Background:
May 12, 8:30am Board of Regents Meeting – Agenda
Recent Media Coverage (April 9 & April 14) and Press Releases (March 30, March 29, March 25)
The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest housestaff union in the United States. A local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing over 17,000 resident physicians and fellows. Our members are dedicated to improving residency training and education, advancing patient care, and expanding healthcare access for our communities.
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