Physicians say their wins raise the bar for patient care and medical training in California
Palo Alto – In a decisive victory for doctors and patients in the Bay Area, resident and fellow physicians at Stanford Health Care, represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU), ratified their groundbreaking first contract yesterday evening, with 99.7% of members voting in favor. This agreement, secured after thirteen months of contentious negotiations, includes one of the most substantial compensation increases for a first contract achieved nationally by the union.
Stanford residents and fellows were thrilled to secure a contract that they say will better enable them to show up to work and fully focus on providing the highest standard of care to patients. “Residents are essential to patient care and vital in day to day hospital operations so this contract is about so much more than a pay raise and benefits,” said Dr. Simran Kaur, an Ob/Gyn and complex family planning fellow. “It’s about retaining and empowering talented and diverse doctors, so that even those without generational wealth can complete their medical training here. It will help ensure housestaff can focus on what matters most – caring for our patients – without the constant worry over how we’ll pay our rent or afford groceries.”
Along with a 21% compensation increase over the three years of the contract, the Bay Area physicians secured many of their core priorities. These include a $50,000 annual stipend for a resident wellness committee, a $20,000 fertility benefit package, a retirement plan with a 2% contribution and 2% match, retention of essential departmental benefits, and crucially, a new fatigue mitigation policy providing all housestaff access to free rideshare services home after working a long shift. Significantly, under the terms of the new contract, the 2025 cohort of first-year resident physicians at Stanford will become the first interns in the country to earn six-figures.
Residents say that their experiences working on the frontlines of the pandemic, as well as recent contract victories by CIR physicians within the UC system, were key drivers in their thirteen-month-long fight for a fair contract with the health system.
“The pandemic was a wakeup call. Residents and fellows were the physicians working the longest hours, caring for the sickest patients with little support. We saw first-hand how this type of crisis devastated healthcare systems and significantly strained the physician workforce,” said Dr. Kelsey Priest, a third-year chief resident in psychiatry. “Watching our colleagues in the UC system achieve these huge contract wins last year was inspiring. They set a new benefit standard for physicians in training and patient care in California, and I’m proud to say that with our new contract, we’re helping to raise the bar even higher.”
Several elected officials, including Senator Josh Becker, representing Senate District 13, Assemblymember Marc Berman, representing Assembly District 23, and Sally J. Lieber, the Vice Chair of the California Board of Equalization have expressed their support for the physicians throughout this negotiation process.
“I’m thrilled to congratulate the Stanford housestaff for securing a contract that reflects their essential role in patient care,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman. “These physicians work tirelessly to care for our communities, and their wellbeing is crucial to ensuring the Bay Area continues receiving the world-class healthcare that Stanford is famous for.”
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The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest house staff union in the United States, a local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representing over 30,000 resident physicians and fellows. Our members are dedicated to improving residency training and education, advancing patient care, and expanding healthcare access for our communities.
