Nine hundred and fifty medical residents and fellows at four hospitals affiliated with Brown’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine are seeking union representation, according to public filings with the National Labor Relations Board.
The residents and fellows work across two separate healthcare systems: Brown University Health, formerly known as Lifespan Health, and Care New England Health. Both of these healthcare systems have residency programs affiliated with Warren Alpert. In separate filings submitted Friday, workers at each health system sought to join the Local 1957 chapter of the Service Employees International Union’s Committee of Interns and Residents, which currently represents over 34,000 resident physicians.
The bargaining units would represent the 721 Brown medical residents and fellows in programs affiliated with the Brown University Health, and all 229 residents and fellows at Care New England. Some of the latter residents are affiliated with the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Warren Alpert is the sole medical school affiliated with Brown University Health.
If recognized by the health systems leaders, the unions will represent all interns, residents, chief residents and fellows at Rhode Island Hospital, Butler Hospital, Kent Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital.
If the medical residents and fellows’ unions are not voluntarily recognized by the two health systems, organizers can petition the NLRB to facilitate an election, or may gain the right to strike for recognition, according to the NLRB website. The NLRB rules state unions must win votes from a majority of represented workers to force employer recognition.
To be voluntarily recognized, organizers must collect signatures of a majority of employees. Current support of these efforts among employees remains unclear.
“We are aware that the residents and fellows at Brown University Health are planning a vote to decide if they wish to unionize,” Brown University Health spokesperson Sharon Torgerson wrote in an email to The Herald. Torgerson did not comment on whether the health system planned to voluntarily recognize the union.
“Our residents and fellows play a critical role in delivering high-quality care, and we greatly value their contributions,” she added. “We remain committed to maintaining an open dialogue with them to support the ongoing quality of education and patient care. Above all, we are dedicated to fostering a positive and collaborative working environment for all of our employees.”
There are currently 706 residents in 28 programs affiliated with Brown’s medical school. These medical school graduates are accepted into specialized three-to-eight year training programs through a ranked-choice matching process.
Resident physicians typically train at hospitals or clinics for the duration of their program, and work up to 80 hours a week. While compensation varies by program, Brown residents’ starting salaries hover around $70,000 — residents in the Internal Medicine residency program, for example, earn $69,750.45 during their first year, and graduate the three-year program earning $77, 257.95.
The school also offers 77 fellowship programs for post-residency physicians to develop additional expertise in a subspecialty. A medical fellowship typically lasts one to three years.
These unionization efforts follow a surge in labor organizing at Brown in recent years. In the past five years, the University has seen seven new staff and student labor unions emerge. It also comes amidst a wave of unionization among physicians nationwide. Nearly 300 Mass General Brigham doctors filed to unionize last Friday, and over 6,400 recently unionized residents represented in University of California’s eight separate CIR chapters filed to become a single system-wide unit on Nov. 14.
Representatives from the University and Care New England did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Clarification: The characterization of Brown University’s relationship with these hospitals has been updated to specify that the health system is a separate entity from the University.
Ethan Schenker is a senior staff writer covering staff and student labor. He is from Bethesda, MD, and plans to study International and Public Affairs and Economics. In his free time, he enjoys playing piano and clicking on New York Times notifications.
Claire Song is a Senior Staff Writer covering science & research. She is a sophomore from California studying Applied Math-Biology. She likes to drink boba in her free time.
