Resident physicians at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland say their salaries aren’t keeping up with the cost of living in the Bay Area. Theirs is one of the latest health care union battles to heat up in California between workers and hospital administration, and is drawing a new generation of members to union organizing.
“A lot of people think being a doctor is super glamorous and you make tons of money and everyone loves you,” said Alana Arnold, a second-year resident. “But in fact, residency is difficult. We’re here to learn and train. And we have to protect ourselves just like any other workforce.”
She and other pediatric medicine residents in Oakland have joined with SEIU’s Committee of Interns and Residents to fight for higher compensation, and a special fund for patients to cover bus tokens and other costs to help them get to appointments and maintain care.
Residents are paid $52,000 a year and work up to 80 hours a week. The residents say they want a small $2,000 bonus over their three-year residency to help offset housing costs. But after more than a year of negotiating, there is no resolution. The latest talks with a federal mediator broke down.
“This contract bargaining has now become an issue of respect,” Arnold said at a demonstration outside the hospital last Friday. “The hospital administrators must see us as equal contributors and as professionals who provide critical medical services to patients of Children’s Hospital.”