Resident Physicians Union and St. Barnabas Settle First Contract: Nearly 300 St. Barnabas Physicians join CIR/SEIU Healthcare 
Resident Physicians Union and St. Barnabas Settle First Contract: Nearly 300 St. Barnabas Physicians join CIR/SEIU Healthcare
BRONX, NY – The resident physicians at St. Barnabas Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify a three-year contract on Wednesday between the hospital and the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare. The agreement improves salaries and benefits for the physicians and opens up new avenues for collaboration between the residents’ union and the hospital administration. The contract will be in effect until June 2014.
“We are very pleased to have these 291 resident physicians joining the almost 6,000 unionized housestaff in New York City,” said CIR President Dr. Hillary Tompkins. “St. Barnabas residents have a real commitment to serving the Bronx, and by giving them a greater voice in patient care, they can make even more contributions to the hospital and the health care of the community.”
"We believe the agreement works for all parties concerned — the residents, the hospital and the union," said St. Barnabas Hospital President & CEO Scott Cooper, MD, "We look forward to enjoying a positive and fruitful relationship with the CIR for years to come."
Elected officials representing St. Barnabas Hospital praised the agreement.
“It is gratifying to see a positive resolution which both sides believe will work out in the long run,” said Congressman José E. Serrano. “It goes to show that when management and labor sit down and collaboratively negotiate, good things happen. I applaud both CIR/SEIU and St. Barnabas officials for their commitment to an agreement, because in the end their work will lead to a healthier Bronx.”
“At the end of the day, St. Barnabas Hospital and the members of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare were able to come together and negotiate a strong deal that works in the best interest of both the hospital and its residents, and especially the thousands of Bronxites who rely on St. Barnabas for their medical care. I would like to thank both CIR and its leadership and Dr. Scott Cooper and the board and staff at the hospital for meeting with myself and my staff during these negotiations to discuss a way to move forward, and for being willing to negotiate with one another in good faith for the betterment of their mutual institution and the Bronx as a whole,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
"I am thrilled that St. Barnabas Hospital and the Committee of Interns and Residents have come to a positive agreement not only regarding improved salaries and benefits for interns and residents, but also the agreement to form a labor-management committee that will open up greater dialogue on how to better serve patients of St. Barnabas and the Bronx community at large," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "Both St. Barnabas Hospital and CIR have been wonderful Bronx CAN Health Initiative partners, working together in our community to promote healthy habits and address issues of health inequity in the Bronx and the 33rd Senate District."
St. Barnabas residents look forward to working more collaboratively with administration by serving as leaders to strengthen the hospital’s impact on the public health of the Bronx.
The Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare is the largest union of resident physicians nationwide, with 13,000 members in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Washington DC. SEIU Healthcare represents more than 1 million members.
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