96% of 830 UB physicians, represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), voted to ratify their first labor contract with their employer, University Medical Resident Services, P.C. (UMRS) on Dec. 13, ending a year-and-a-half long stalemate in negotiations.
Physicians’ salaries — which UAPD members argued to be the lowest in New York State — are expected to increase by 17.3% to 34.4% over the course of three years, with chief residents receiving an annual $1,500 supplement. All residents will gain a $500 bonus.
The contract also establishes a new labor/management committee, consisting of UAPD and UMRS members, to discuss “issues related to the terms and conditions for employment.” A Stakeholder-HSO committee will also be formed to improve communication between residents and UMRS’ financial backers — including local downtown Buffalo hospitals and UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine — to address the quality of working environments, including resident safety and cleanliness of call rooms.
To ease outside costs, health insurance premiums will not be raised higher than 7% of the prior year amount. Additionally, UB will annually contribute $2,000 per resident to an educational and professional development fund and $40,000 to an emergency fund.
UB physicians’ labor attorney Robert Boreanaz attributed the improvement in negotiations to the four-day strike that happened three months prior.
“I think it really captured the attention of Western New York and captured the attention of hospital administrators who then became much more active behind the scenes,” Boreanaz said.
UMRS’ legal counsel Lawrence Ross said that UMRS is pleased that the agreement has been reached.
“UMRS, its hospital partners and the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will continue to partner to provide residents and fellows with exceptional medical training and learning opportunities as all parties work together to improve health care in Western New York,” Ross said.
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com
The news desk can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com
Mylien Lai is the senior news editor at The Spectrum. Outside of getting lost in Buffalo, she enjoys practicing the piano and being a bean plant mom. She can be found at @my_my_my_myliennnn on Instagram.
