Resident physicians and fellows at Stanford Health Care reached a tentative agreement on their first labor contract with the Palo Alto, Calif.-based health system on Dec. 6.
The deal, which covers a 1,500-person bargaining unit, includes a 21% pay increase, preservation of departmental benefits, a $50,000 annual stipend for a resident wellness committee, fully funded rideshare services and a new grievance and arbitration process, according to the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union.
Resident physicians and fellows at Stanford Health Care voted in favor of unionization last year. Union members and Stanford began negotiating a new contract 13 months ago.
"We organized because we knew the exploitative nature of medical training needs to change–for both us and our patients," David Dupee, MD, a third-year resident in psychiatry, said in a Dec. 8 union news release. "Resident working conditions and patient care are inextricably connected. This contract will help reduce our financial stress, allowing us to focus our attention on caring for our patients with less concern over how we'll afford rent or childcare. We are proud of the precedent this sets, not only for current and future residents at Stanford, but also for our colleagues unionizing and negotiating at hospitals across the nation and the patients that we all serve."
Stanford shared the following statement with Becker's: "Together with the union, we worked hard to reach an agreement that reinforces our commitment to housestaff and their continued education and clinical training. This agreement not only includes competitive wage increases and an expanded yearly housing allowance, but it maintains the market-leading benefits already in place for housestaff, including free health premiums and no copays or deductibles through SHC providers, education allowance and sick leave. We are extremely appreciative of the work by both negotiating teams, and we look forward to the outcome of the vote."