Unionized Resident Physicians Rally for Pay Parity, Hazard Pay

Unionized resident physicians at Mount Sinai Morningside and West rallied in front of Mount Sinai West on 10th Avenue in Manhattan yesterday evening. Every minute or so, a car driving past would honk in solidarity, which was met with cheers and pumped fists from the dozens in attendance.

The resident physicians’ main demands are pay parity and hazard pay for future public health emergencies (PHEs). Non-unionized resident physicians recently got a 6% raise that residents unionized with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) did not receive.

CIR is a local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and represents over 24,000 residents and fellows, according to their website.

“We are here today to speak out because it is simply not right that Mount Sinai would pay CIR resident physicians less than physicians who are not unionized,” said Aliza Grossberg, MD, MPH, a CIR union delegate and third-year resident in psychiatry. “To be blunt: it feels like we are being punished for having a union and like Mount Sinai is trying to stop our fellow physicians from unionizing by creating a two-tiered system.”

Grossberg told MedPage Today that 99% of residents and fellows — coming out to a little over 500 — are unionized at Mount Sinai Morningside and West. CIR predates Mount Sinai’s acquisition of the two hospitals in the 2010s.

Brian Brown, MD, PhD, another union member and an emergency department physician, said that back in February, the union asked for an extra $300 a week during future PHEs.

“That comes out to roughly $60 per day just for taking on the additional physical risk of working in a PHE. And that was flat out rejected by Sinai without any counteroffer or willingness to negotiate,” Brown told MedPage Today. “It feels like a slap in the face to the sacrifices that previous residents and fellows made during the COVID pandemic.”

Brown, Grossberg, and other speakers all emphasized that fair working conditions for residents results in better patient care and less physician burnout. Union members at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, which has a partnership with Mount Sinai through NYC Health + Hospitals, are also calling for pay parity.

Gale Brewer, a New York City Council member who represents the areas of Manhattan near the hospitals, stood with residents, holding up a corner of the CIR banner before addressing the crowd.

“CIR members have put their lives on the line to care for all of us from the moment the pandemic hit. It is disgraceful that Mount Sinai is refusing to even talk about hazard pay,” Brewer declared. “Nobody should be working as many hours a week as you do and struggle to make ends meet.”

The next bargaining session between CIR and Mount Sinai is scheduled for Thursday.