FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from the Alliance of Resident Physicians
March 24, 2023
Contact: Justin Bria, justin.bria.12@gmail.com, 517-643-1410
Detroit Resident Physicians Seek Unionization Vote through NLRB
Resident physicians employed by Detroit Education & Research and working at Detroit Medical Center hospitals are coming together to form a union
DETROIT – On Friday, resident physicians employed by Detroit Education & Research and working at Detroit Medical Center hospitals filed union authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board in order to begin the process of having a unionization election. The filing with the NLRB comes after a request by the resident physicians for their union to be voluntarily recognized was not granted by the administration.
The Alliance of Resident Physicians is leading the way to improve the working conditions of resident physicians so they can provide the best care possible to patients while bargaining for the support and respect they deserve on the job and will be a new healthcare local affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers Michigan.
“Our organizing campaign has been going extremely well with an overwhelming majority of residents choosing to sign cards supporting the union and our right to collective bargaining,” said Justin Bria, a third-year resident in the surgery department. “This organizing effort has been successful because residents know that through a union we can bargain together for the resources, respect and support we deserve on the job while ensuring patients are receiving the best care possible and improving the hospital system as a whole.”
For the past several weeks, resident physicians have been signing union authorization cards with an overwhelming majority of support. As of Friday, the cards were filed with the NLRB to show that residents support an election to designate the Alliance of Resident Physicians to represent nearly 1,000 resident physicians’ collective bargaining efforts. Following NLRB approval, an election will be held.
“Resident physicians show up early, leave late and are the first point of contact for patient support. A union and collective bargaining will help ensure the administration is supporting residents the same way they support their patients,” said Shiv Misra, a second-year resident in the Med-Peds program. “From cardiology and radiology to psychiatry, pathology, and urology, and everything in between, a resident is directly responsible for patient care wherever they are in the hospital. We look forward to hearing from the NLRB and successful election.”
Healthcare workers have been organizing in hospitals across Michigan over the last several years. Successful organizing efforts have included United Physician Assistants of Michigan Medicine, AFT Local 5297 AFL-CIO and United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, AFT Local 6739 AFL-CIO.
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