More than 1,000 residents and fellows at New York City’s Montefiore Medical Center say they plan on unionizing, citing stresses and demands seen during the coronavirus pandemic that have nevertheless continued.
The Bronx-based hospital has more than 1,200 residents and fellows.
Staffing shortages, resource shortages, requirements to take on additional tasks as well as issues over salaries and other compensation, as well as excessive hours, were cited by the hospital’s health care staff as reasons to organize, according to the Bronx Times news outlet.
The doctors said at a news conference Tuesday that they have requested immediate voluntary recognition of the Committee of Interns and Residents as their new union. CIR is a branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
About 70 percent of the doctors support unionizing, organizers told reporters.
But the doctors are not alone in their decision to act in the wake of the two-year pandemic: more than 100 physician assistants (PA’s) at the hospital are likewise soon expected to vote on whether to unionize as well.
