Resident and fellow physicians employed by Detroit Education & Research and working at Detroit Medical Center hospitals vote to form a union
On June 4, 2024, resident physicians and fellows employed by Detroit Education & Research and working at Detroit Medical Center hospitals successfully voted 508-8 in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election to unionize. Their union, the Alliance of Resident Physicians (ARP), is affiliated with AFT Michigan/AFT/AFL-CIO, which has helped organize thousands of other healthcare workers in Michigan in recent years. This group joins residents employed by Wayne State University (WSU), who unionized with ARP last year. According to available data from the NLRB, this is the largest private sector union victory in Detroit since at least 2000.
“Our hospital system is a vital part of Detroit, and this unionizing effort shows how invested we as resident physicians are in improving our hospital and our ability to care for our community,” said Dr. Kendel Ridgeway, a member of ARP. “This unionization drive was successful because residents know that through a union we can bargain together for the resources, safer working conditions, and support we deserve on the job while ensuring patients are receiving the best care possible and improving the hospital system as a whole.”
The Alliance of Resident Physicians originally filed for union recognition in March 2023 with the NLRB. The union is working towards improving morale and preventing burnout from regular shift schedules, fair wages, improving benefits, and expanding participation in decision making.
“We ask that Detroit Education and Research works with residents collectively to create a model environment that prioritizes effective and just patient care, provides a safe and rich space for clinical education, and ensures the well-being of all residents and fellows,” said Dr. Justin Bria, a member of ARP. “We hope to get to the bargaining table as soon as possible without further frivolous legal challenges this employer has engaged in during this campaign. We won and proved the overwhelming majority, fair and square. It’s time to work together as partners.”
“It’s encouraging to see the growing number of resident physicians coming together to push for meaningful changes in the workplace, and the overwhelming victory by ARP is a big accomplishment,” said Terrence Martin, president of AFT Michigan. “By building power to win fair pay and better working conditions, the quality of care that resident physicians can provide will improve, ensuring that outcomes are better for patients, workers, and the healthcare system alike.”
Healthcare workers have been organizing in hospitals across Michigan over the last several years. In addition to residents and fellows at WSU, successful organizing efforts have included United Physician Assistants of Michigan Medicine, AFT Local 5297, United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, AFT Local 6739 AFL-CIO, and Resident and Fellow Alliance at the Homer Stryker School of Medicine, AFT Local 5157.
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