Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Getty Images
Members of the union representing medical residents and interns at three Los Angeles County hospitals voted to approve a strike authorization.
The Committee of Interns and Residents, part of the Service Employees International Union, known as CIR/SEIU, represents more than 1,300 resident physicians and fellows at LAC+USC Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center.
The vote to authorize the strike, prompted by stalled contract talks with county officials, began on 16 in May and ended this Monday. The 99% of the voters demonstrated “a please strike, if necessary”, according to a press release.
“The results of our vote show how committed we are in our hospitals and departments to take the next step if necessary,” said Dr. Mahima Iyengar, a first-year resident of internal medicine and pediatrics at the LAC Medical Center. +USC.
“This is a mandate and we got it because we all understand that it is ultimately about wanting to give our all to the communities we serve and making sure we have what we need outside of work to fully focus on care of the patient when we are in the hospital”, he added.
Two weeks ago, when the vote began, the union officials he approved of the strike, the doctors and the interns “would join tens of thousands of other Los Angeles County employees who have exhausted their options, as the county continues to engage in perfunctory negotiations in worker contract negotiations”.
The most recent union contract expired on 30 September 2021 and negotiators ask for a 7% increase as part of a new agreement.
The Los Angeles County Executive Office, which handles the contract negotiations, expressed in a statement Monday its optimistic that a strike could be avoided and mentioned that services to the public are expected to continue without interruption.
Resident physicians, or interns, are considered physicians-in-training who have graduated from medical school and gain on-the-job experience while providing They provide medical treatment and other services to patients. Wages at Los Angeles County facilities generally range from $50,000 dollars and $65,000 dollars per year.
But many residents said they have worked long hours, especially as hospitals have sometimes been overrun with COVID patients and faced staff shortages due to the pandemic.
In addition to the salary increase, the union asks for a better benefits package and better working conditions .
Union officials accused county negotiators of failing to address these proposals key contract and engaging in bad faith negotiation conduct.
The 31 in March, medical residents joined other disgruntled county employees in marching on the Board of Supervisors and staged a rally outside their hospitals on May 5.
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