Orca – Questions & Answers

For more details on dues, please see the other question “How much do I have to pay” above. UAPD’s union dues are 0.9% of salary, to be automatically deducted from paychecks after a new contract is negotiated. UAPD posts its accounting statement, and we encourage you to peruse its website to understand its mission statement and how it aligns with ours. UAPD incurs fees to help run the organization, which includes legal staff, organizational staff, and administrative staff. The legal protections you gain from joining a union and the legal representation UAPD provides you are paid for by your union dues. The attorneys that will be used to defend you and your rights will be paid for by your dues. They also review our contracts and, alongside residents, negotiate improved contracts with UB/UMRS. UAPD also runs new campaigns, meets with legislatures, helps support union activities, and pays for other membership perks.

This is a great question and not one that is set in stone yet. Thus far, we have asked for a voluntary contribution from specialties to help in discussion efforts. We have had people voluntarily step up from most of the large programs, but we need more help! If you don’t know of anyone from your program that you can ask questions to and want to become involved, reach out to us! The great thing about forming our own union is that we get to create these platforms from the ground up. It is house staff created and house staff led. We are discussing whether to continue with the voluntary model versus doing democratic votes.

Once a union is formed, typically a few residents will become union representative liaisons. Each rep would be from a different residency with the goal of having as many programs represented as possible.

This is a great question and one that is in the works of refining. We, as UB residents, will have complete control to define our priorities. We are encouraging YOU to speak out and let us know what is important to you. Through surveys and talks with many of you, our most important priority is achieving pay parity with equivocal programs across the region. This is unanimously the number 1 priority. UAPD has a history of negotiating strong contracts for residents that are significantly improved than the current contracts at UB.

Equally important is to educate and empower our members to advocate for dignity and respect. We want to create the foundations for an organization with integrity and empathy to improve working conditions for house staff that outlasts the transient workers we represent. Other key ideas include items to improve working conditions, such as universal expansion of education funds, providing meal stipends, housing stipends, retirement benefits, and hazard pay. Other unionized programs in the country receive $6,000-10,000 housing stipends in addition to their salaries (which fare higher than UB’s).

We continue to encourage your ideas. Please tell us what is important to you.

Unions are only as strong as their members demand. UAPD provides resources and knowledge to help groups organize, legal resources to protect your rights and bargain to improve working conditions, but they DO NOT take the place of residents. You may have already been aware of the advocacy work that residents have already put in this year. This is what we want to help cement in place for ourselves and future residents by unionizing. There is no outcome guarantee that any union can make. What it does is level the playing field. What its members put in is what you get out. With weak leadership or vision, you run the risk of membership dues being pulled without any benefit. This has historically not been the case with residencies who have formed unions. Unionizing is about giving us power. The more involved its members are, the stronger and unified our voice will be.

No. No individual at UB, UMRS, or its affiliates will see your individual names or signatures. This includes GME, program directors, attendings, co-residents, peer union organizers, or any member of the affiliate hospitals.

The only parties that will see your individual signed cards are the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) administrative staff and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). These cards will not be distributed to any employers, present or future, and will be kept strictly confidential.

Currently, this unionization effort is for UMRS employees only. If you are a resident who is employed by UDRS and are interested in organizing, please reach out to Rachel Flores (UAPD Organizing Director) at [email protected].

Please continue to sign the upcoming year’s contract as you would normally. Upon obtaining a “win” in the general election, UAPD and UB residents will negotiate for a fair and just contract for all UB interns, residents, and fellows.

This is a myth! Your votes via mail-in ballot are completely ANONYMOUS and CONFIDENTIAL. You will receive mail-in ballots starting April 12, 2023 via USPS. The ballots you receive will be de-identified, anonymous, and coded with numbers. These ballots are mailed out by the federal government, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and will be returned to the federal government. No individual or entity will ever know what you voted for.

Department-specific benefits are protected by law and maintained in several ways.

It is illegal to remove benefits as retaliation for unionizing.

The National Labor Relations Act makes it illegal for employers to threaten employees with a reduction of benefits and worse working conditions in retaliation for employee efforts to unionize. During the unionization process, benefits are carefully documented to ensure they are not removed in violation of labor law. Reducing department-specific benefits in response to unionization would be a textbook case of retaliation by the employer and would constitute illegal behavior.

Unionization raises, not lowers, the common denominator.

Source: https://sway.office.com/ELr9il70Vn8dWpqd

Yes, all residents get to vote on the initial contract prior to ratification.

NO! This is an absolute myth utilized as a union-busting tactic. No residency programs have seen their training extended due to joining a union. If you meet all of the graduation requirements for your specific program, then you are eligible to graduate. The presence of a union is irrelevant to your graduation requirements.

If you are threatened to extend your training by joining a union, please contact us. We will pursue legal action as this is unlawful behavior outlined by NLRB Sections 7 and 8, constituting retaliatory behavior.

Our residency program is unique in that UMRS does not own a health system. Rather, UMRS is designated as a professional corporation (PC) that provides professional services. Resident salaries are paid for by the US federal government. The unique challenges that we anticipate facing are that we will be negotiating with hospital leadership for improvements in our wages, benefits, and working conditions. Since UMRS does not own the hospitals, we will not be directly negotiating with UMRS.

Our current benefits will act as the “floor”. We will not lose any benefits as a result of unionizing. In fact, the NLRB has gone as far to state that the removal (or diminishment) of benefits upon joining a union is considered retaliatory in nature and unlawful. Our current benefits become the “floor” and we can only add or improve benefits after unionization.

Higher salaries, housing stipends, meal stipends, retirement contributions, child care, hazard pay, and improvements to moonlighting. Please fill out your priorities here.

A union will not alter inter-departmental variation. Each department is unique in that has varied needs from other departments. You will continue to have your departmental benefits with a union. Program directors maintain flexibility to add benefits for their department in a unionized residency program. Additionally, what you currently have becomes the “floor”. It is unlawful – and considered retaliatory – if your department removes benefits after joining a union. That means if your program already pays for board exams, then your program has to continue paying for board exams in the future.

After a union is established, the contract negotiating process will begin. We are anticipating the contract negotiations to take anywhere from 6-12 months.