Your bargaining team has been hard at work drafting up a contract proposal based on the bargaining surveys that you all filled out! We’ve submitted a formal request to bargain on things like increased wages, housing stipends, and parental leave, but among other absurd responses, Stanford is pushing to make negotiations opaque, infrequent, and difficult for housestaff to attend. (Stanford had also refused to give us items as simple as an accurate employee list until we filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board). 

Stanford is trying to win by stalling and by counting on us being too exhausted from work to fight as a union for improvements to our working conditions. Your bargaining team and CIR organizing staff are working hard behind the scenes, but housestaff ARE the union, and we cannot win without you! Our collective strength is what won the largest private sector residency union election in the country this past May, and our collective dedication to changing the culture of our training is what will win a fair contract that values our labor and wellbeing. If you support your bargaining team and want a strong contract, here’s what you can do:

• Sign your membership card now. While you can sign at any time, we want a supermajority of residents/fellows signed up by October 19 (by our first bargaining session with Stanford), to send a strong message that we are still committed to this union and contract, and that their stall tactics won’t work. Reminders:
  • The card you signed last winter isn’t the same as the membership card
  • You don’t pay membership dues (1.6% of our base pay) until we democratically vote (ratify) to approve a contract.
  • You must be a member to vote on ratifying the contract. 
  • If you’re graduating, your membership is still important for support!
  • COPE contributions are optional, but support CIR/SEIU to lobby for legislative wins like the California healthcare worker retention bonus (up to $1500 for residents). 
• Talk to us and ask questions! Come to our union coffee event this Friday, or talk to anyone on the organizing team (see below).
• If you want to get more involved – contact Rhea Manglani (one of our staff organizers) at rmanglani@cirseiu.org!

Events

Union coffee break! Free coffee, tea, and donuts (and Philip from IM is bringing his dog Cashew(!!!)).
When: Friday Oct 7 12PM – 1PM
Where: The Zoom Coffee Truck in front of the 300P Fountain
What: Come chat with your union organizers, ask questions about bargaining, and pick up CIR gear to show your solidarity in the hospital!

PSA: Stanford’s lawyers have been telling programs they cannot make various changes (e.g. moonlighting) because of ‘status quo’. To be clear, this is an inaccurate interpretation of status quo and our union is not preventing these changes from being made.

Feel out of the loop? Here’s the  high-yield FAQs on bargaining, union membership, and status quo.

Other news

Follow us on Instagram @stanfordhousestaffunion for updates!

Read a JAMA op-ed authored by some of our organizing members on why resident and fellow unions promote wellbeing (PDF)

Wins across CIR:

• ALL of the UCs are now unionized with CIR! See residents from UCSF and UCLA fighting for a good contract that keeps up with the cost of living.
• Residents at Valley Consortium for Medical Education (UC Davis affiliated) overwhelmingly voted YES on their new contract. Wins achieved at the bargaining table by the residents include: 16.25% increase over three years to PGY2-5 salaries, an 11.25% increase to PGY1 salaries, $350/month meal cards for external rotations, and more!
• SEIU fought for and won over $1 billion of funds for California healthcare worker retention bonuses, and CIR made sure residents were included to receive up to a $1500 bonus! 

Email sent to Stanford housestaff on 10/6/2022