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Beth Israel Deaconess latest hospital to see push for union among resident physicians
The doctors in training, who work notoriously long hours, are calling for higher salaries to afford living in one of America’s most expensive cities.
On Friday, about 800 residents, fellows, and interns at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) announced their plan to unionize, citing inadequate pay and long working hours.
According to a Boston Globe report, the doctors intend to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local of Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Two weeks ago, the BIDMC residents petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to seek union representation. They’re expected to vote on the matter next month.
In an interview with the Globe, first-year BIDMC internal medicine resident Christopher Joshi spoke about insufficient pay, long hours, and the effect on work performance.
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“We’re trying to do the right thing for our patients, and we’re coming up against a system that’s really not working for them, and it’s also not working for us,” Joshi told the outlet. “It’s really hard to take care of patients when we feel like we can’t afford to live in a very expensive city, when we don’t have food and time to sleep.”
A spokesperson for Beth Israel Lahey Health, the hospital’s parent company, said the hospital will await election results.
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“BIDMC respects and supports the right of our trainees to make an informed decision about union representation, and we will proceed with the election process in accordance with all NLRB procedures. However, we believe that working directly with trainees to support their unique role at BIDMC is the best path forward,” the statement said.
The residents at BIDMC, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate, join hundreds of providers in the Boston area to organize this year. Among their frustrations is a lack of transparency surrounding how much doctors in training are paid.
Last week, a crowd of medical residents and their supporters marched outside Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, calling for higher pay, better working conditions, and more benefits.
In March, a study by SmartAsset found that Boston was the fifth-most expensive U.S. city. To “live comfortably,” a single person needs to earn about $125,000 per year.
According to the Globe report, BIDMC residents and fellows earn between $76,680 and $108,000, depending on their postgraduate year. They also take home a stipend of between $7,500 and $10,000. However, because pay scales are determined on an annual basis, there’s little clarity on how much pay they’ll earn in following years. Residents also cite hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt as a need for higher wages.
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“It is obviously challenging to be a resident, and we all understand that, and we all sign up for that. I think what we don’t sign up for is not knowing if we’ll be able to afford our apartment next year,” Joshi told the Globe.
The BIDMC spokesperson said the hospital “is among the most competitive programs for salary and benefits for residents” and provides 12 weeks of paid medical leave.
“While we do have the flexibility to adjust the scale based on market conditions, we are transparent about annual compensation,” the spokesperson said.
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