Almost 700 Rhode Island Physicians win historic union election in landslide

Residents and Fellows Affiliated with Brown at Rhode Island Hospital Become First in RI to Unionize with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU)

Labor organizing in Rhode Island continues to impress!

A press release from the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU):

Today, physician leaders from the about 689 resident physicians and fellows employed by Lifespan at Rhode Island Hospital announced that they won their official National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union election in a landslide 464-27 vote–joining the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU), the largest physicians’ union in the country.

The Lifespan physicians are the first of two groups of Rhode Island doctors working in programs sponsored by Brown University who have been participating in mail-in ballot union elections since December. About 230 doctors at Care New England hospitals have their vote counts scheduled for Wednesday, January 15.

The Lifespan doctors say that the historic election is the culmination of years of organizing with their coworkers to win a seat at the table to advocate for physician wellbeing and patient care for the people of Rhode Island. That effort started when a group of doctors met at Narragansett Brewery in 2021.

“Since a group of us first talked about the possibility of unionizing–that was three years ago now–we’ve poured so much into this because we believe in the power of unions to transform conditions for healthcare workers and patients,” said Dr. Kate Spiegel, a neurology resident physician. “It feels incredible to finally say that we won this together, and we know this is just the first step in securing what we need to make residency and fellowship in Rhode Island the best it can be for us, our families, and our patients.”

The physicians regularly work 80 hours a week at the center of patient care at crucial safety net hospitals for people across the State, including Rhode Island Hospital, the only level-1 trauma center between New Haven and Boston. Facing chronic financial stress and with little time to care for their health, the doctors say they were inspired by physicians organizing across the country with CIR to improve their conditions. Amid a crisis shortage in primary care physicians in Rhode Island, the physicians hope a strong union contract will also help their programs continue to attract doctors from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine and who reflect the diversity of their patients–many of whom are working-class immigrants, refugees, and people of color.

“The reason we’re doing this is because we believe that the people of Rhode Island deserve excellent care, and we want to do everything in our power to advocate for that while making sure that we’re also able to care for ourselves and attend to our wellbeing,” said Dr. Ben Raymond-Kolker, an internal medicine-pediatrics resident physician.

The union the physicians are joining, CIR, has more than doubled since 2020 as new doctors increasingly reject the status quo in medicine.

“More than ever, we’re seeing how doctors and nurses are taking control of the healthcare system in this country back from insurance companies and an overall medical system rooted in profit,” said Dr. Raymond-Kolker. “We’re so excited to be part of that.”

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The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest house staff union in the United States. It is a local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and represents over 34,000 resident physicians and fellows. Members are dedicated to improving residency training and education, advancing patient care, and expanding healthcare access for our communities.