Resident doctors and fellows at the University of Chicago Medical Center reached their first-ever contract with the health system following nearly a year of negotiations.
The five-year contract for the roughly 1,000 residents and fellows “will have a direct impact on both their well-being and their ability to provide high-quality patient care to their patients,” according to the Committee of Interns and Residents, their union representation.
The victory is the latest in a growing movement in Illinois and nationwide to unionize residents and secure contracts that make their working conditions more humane and sustainable.
The Committee of Interns and Residents, a local of Service Employees International Union, represents over 40,000 resident physicians and fellows — nearly a quarter of all U.S. residents and fellows. Their membership has nearly doubled over the last four years after residents faced extreme burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased corporatization of healthcare, according to the union.
Among the wins U of C residents secured in the contract are a 17% wage increase over the life of the contract, a $9,000 annual stipend, rideshare reimbursements after long shifts and due process protections.
“The University of Chicago Medical Center and SEIU’s Committee of Interns & Residents have reached a tentative contract covering all medical residents and fellows training at the academic medical center. The nearly five-year agreement will continue UCMC’s support for physician trainees as we fulfill our educational and patient care missions,” a representative for the University of Chicago said in a statement.
Residents often work over 80 hours a week for much lower pay compared to fully board certified physicians. At University of Chicago, they provide the majority of patient care at the system’s hospitals, clinics and the South Side’s sole level one trauma center, according to the union.
The contract, which residents say will help reduce burnout and make the medical profession more sustainable, comes after a yearlong contract fight with the administration at University of Chicago.
“My colleagues and I chose medicine because guiding our patients through health and illness is both an honor and a privilege, but we’d had enough of sacrificing our own well-being,” Jasmine Chaparro, a second-year resident in family medicine, said in the union’s statement.
The tentative agreement will be presented to the union’s members, and a ratification vote will likely be held in early November.
The union’s contract closely follows victories at Northwestern McGaw Medical Center, where residents secured their first union contract in September, and at University of Illinois Chicago, where they got their first deal in February 2023.
The deal the nearly 1,300 residents at Northwestern secured and ratified includes a 16% pay bump for the first year of residency with an annual $11,000 stipend and a 3% raise, a licensure reimbursement program and lower health costs.
They also made history as the largest group of residents in the Midwest to unionize, according to the Committee of Interns and Residents. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was among their supporters.