Medical residents at four Philadelphia hospital systems are mounting a unionization campaign to seek better working conditions, becoming part of a national trend that has gained momentum in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, about 3,000 resident physicians employed by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Temple University Hospital and Einstein Healthcare Network said they plan to unionize, making an announcement outside the former Hahnemann University Hospital in North Philadelphia. The closure of Hahnemann in 2019 displaced more than 500 medical residents, forcing them to relocate to other hospitals to complete their training.
The residents at all four Philly health systems intend to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), the largest union of resident physicians in the United States, to bargain for contracts with their respective employers.
In a statement, Jefferson Health said the system's residency program "fosters an environment of exceptional medical training" with competitive wages and benefits.
"While we respect our residents’ right to explore unionization, we believe that a direct working relationship between our health system's team members and our leaders results in the most empowered and productive teams," the statement said.
The three other health systems did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday afternoon.
The announcement comes two months after Penn Medicine's 1,400 resident physicians and fellows became Pennsylvania's first hospital house staff to reach a union contract. The residents at Penn Medicine voted to join CIR last year. Their contract gave workers raises between 25% and 28%, eight weeks of parental leave, and reimbursements for getting ride-hailing services home after long shifts. The deal also included assurances about stocking personal protective equipment and other supplies.
Residents at the four Philly hospitals planning to join CIR pointed to chronic understaffing, extreme hours that cause burnout and lack of support they say is ingrained in the health systems. They also cited the need for better standards for residents serving the population of Philadelphia, one of the poorest big cities in the United States.
CIR's representation of more than 34,000 residents, interns and fellows has doubled since 2019, making it the fastest-growing health care union in the country. The trend has been driven by multiple factors, including residents' demands for more amenable child care policies and staffing expectations that often have them working 80 hour weeks. The unionization of residents also coincides with a decades-long shift away from doctors running independent medical practices toward working for large hospital systems.