BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo Resident Physicians are prepared to strike Tuesday at midnight after failing to reach a deal Sunday.
According to the union's lead negotiator, Rob Boreanaz, the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), who is representing the UB residents held a lengthy bargaining session over the weekend but they were unable to reach an agreement.
After a year at the bargaining table, the residents — who work at hospitals like Kaleida, ECMC, and the Buffalo VA — have been asking for an 8-10% salary increase, improved benefits, and better working conditions.
The residents say the latest offer from University Medical Resident Services, the shell company that pays their salaries, would still leave UB residents (when compared to other programs in the region) with the lowest salary and as the only program with no benefits outside of a health care policy, which many tells us right now doesn’t even afford them the healthcare they provide.
“You can't be a physician and take care of your patients if you can't take care of yourself,” said Mattie Rosi-Schumacher, a fifth-year resident, who has been on the bargaining team for the past year.
Rosi-Schumacher said the union voted to authorize a strike of 830 residents and fellows across Western New York due to “bad-faith bargaining” on the part of their employer. That has included the hospital shareholders refusing to come to the negotiating table and instead relying on UMRS.
She said she believes they would have a contract by now if the shareholders agreed to negotiate with them directly.
“It just really felt so disrespectful that they just wouldn't come to the table with us,” Rosi-Schumacher said. “The things that this lawyer can't promise is what is under the control of the hospitals.”
Late Monday night, UMRS released a statement saying their latest proposal was “virtually the same as the union’s proposal” and that what the residents are now asking for is “not fiscally responsible for UMRS or the hospital training sites.”
Here is the full statement from UMRS:
“Over the past 12 months of collective bargaining, UMRS has received the support of UB and the stakeholders in the WNY medical community in an attempt to reach an agreement with UAPD.
Despite UMRS' best efforts to reach an agreement – including providing the union (UAPD) with a salary proposal that is virtually the same as the union’s proposal – the union has decided to move forward with the strike. This disappointing news from the union comes after a September 1 bargaining session in which the union made a last-minute demand, little more than 24 hours before the strike, for an additional $15 million in salary increases over three years. It is pretty apparent that, by doing this, the union is not interested in settling this contract negotiation any time soon.
Their counterproposal is not fiscally responsible for UMRS or the hospital training sites. It also fails to consider the critical role our local hospitals play in serving patients in our community.
Additionally, it does not fully consider the tremendous value of the educational and training benefits provided to the residents by our hospitals and UB’s Office of Graduate Medical Education, which ensure residents and trainees develop the foundational clinical skills and knowledge required to successfully practice independently.
While we are disappointed with the union's recent actions that prevented an agreement to avert a strike, UMRS will continue to bargain in good faith with the hope that an agreement will soon be reached.”
Local medical institutions have been notified he said that the residents will go on strike at midnight.
According to UAPD, the strike will begin outside of Buffalo General Hospital on Tuesday at midnight and continue from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for four days.
A handful of the hospitals that employ these residents released statements to 2 On Your Side about the strike.
ECMC & Kaleida Health:
“Kaleida Health and ECMC are not party to the negotiations and the residents and fellows are not our employees. That said, we are aware of the strike authorization, and we are monitoring the situation closely. We have taken steps at our various training sites to minimize any potential impact to daily operations. We will continue to meet our responsibility to take care of our patients - first and foremost - because that is the commitment we make to our community every day.”
VA Western New York Healthcare System:
“VA Western New York Healthcare System (VAWNYHS) fully supports our medical residents who play an important role in caring for the Veteran patients we serve each day. VAWNYHS is grateful of the collaborative working relationship we have with our medical residents, a partnership built on trust and a mutual goal of providing world class, patient-centric care for Veterans and their beneficiaries, and active-duty members. We are prepared to manage any staff deficiencies should they arise.”
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center:
“Roswell Park has a coverage plan in place to ensure that high-quality patient care will continue uninterrupted during the possible work stoppage affecting a small proportion of our physician team. We recognize the valuable contributions of residents and fellows in providing care for our patients across our region and, at Roswell Park, to the advancement of cancer science benefiting patients and families globally. The dedicated professionals we help train bring added energy and innovation to our programs, and our patients deeply appreciate the care they receive from these physicians.”
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences:
“The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is disappointed that an agreement was not reached that would have avoided a strike by the medical residents and fellows.
However, we are encouraged that an offer has been made from the residents' employer (University Medical Resident Services, P.C.) to provide the residents with a salary on par with their peers at upstate hospitals. As negotiations continue, we remain committed to supporting residents and providing them with the outstanding educational opportunities, training, and experiences they need to become highly skilled physicians within the healthcare community.”
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