Resident physicians vote to authorize union strike at 3 LA County hospitals

Members of the union representing roughly 1,300 resident physicians and interns at three Los Angeles County hospitals have voted to approve a strike authorization if contract talks remain stalled, officials announced.

“Ninety-nine percent of voting members voted in favor of striking if necessary,” according to a news release from the Committee of Interns and Residents, part of the Service Employees International Union and commonly referred to as CIR/SEIU.

The union represents the resident physicians, fellows and interns at LAC+USC Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center

“The results of our vote show how committed we are across our hospitals and across our departments to taking this next step if we need to,” Dr. Mahima Iyengar, a first-year internal medicine-pediatrics resident at LAC+USC Medical Center, said following the vote announcement. “This is a mandate and we got it because all of us understand that this is ultimately about wanting to give everything to the communities we serve, and ensuring we have what we need outside of work to focus completely on patient care when we’re in the hospital.”

The strike authorization vote from May 16 to May 30 was prompted by stalled contract talks with county officials. The union’s most recent contract expired on Sept. 30, 2021 and negotiators are asking for a 7% raise as part of a new agreement.

In a statement to the media, the LA County Chief Executive Office, which handles contract negotiations for the county, expressed optimism that a strike can be avoided and said services to the public are expected to continue without interruption.

“Negotiations are ongoing and the County remains hopeful of reaching a fair and fiscally responsible contract,” the statement said. “The pending authorization vote by the Committee of Interns and Residents is not a strike and services to the public are continuing without interruption.”

Resident physicians, or interns, are considered doctors in training who have graduated from medical school and gain on-the-job experience while providing medical treatment and other services to patients. Salaries at Los Angeles County facilities generally range from $50,000 to $65,000 a year.

But many say they have been working long hours, especially as hospitals have at times been overrun with COVID-19 patients and faced with staffing shortages due to the pandemic.

“We’re doctors, and people see us with white coats, so they think we make what you would think a doctor makes,” Camila Alvarado, a second-year family resident at Harbor-UCLA, said during a news conference earlier this month. “But in residency, if you divide by the number of hours we work, which is about 80 hours a week, we actually make about minimum wage, if not less than minimum wage.”

In addition to higher wages, the union is asking for an improved benefits package and better working conditions.

Union officials have accused county negotiators of failing to address these key contract proposals and engaging in bad faith bargaining conduct.

On March 31, resident physicians joined other disgruntled county employees in marching on the Board of Supervisors and staged a march out of their hospitals on May 5.

“Not only have we continued to give our all every day to ensure our hospitals can run smoothly through this health crisis, but we have marched, we’ve spoken out, we’ve used every tool to settle this contract and get the pay and benefits we need to live, while the County has offered us nothing in response to some of our most urgent proposals,” Iyengar said in an op-ed piece for MedPage. “We don’t do so lightly, but the Board of Supervisors is leaving us really with no choice but to take this strike vote, and I’ll be proud to vote yes.”

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