[Baltimore Sun] University of Maryland Medical Center requests election for unionization of residents
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The University of Maryland Medical Center filed a petition Thursday morning with the National Labor Relations Board to request a secret-ballot election for resident and fellow physicians to decide whether to unionize.
Dr. Bert O’Malley, president and CEO of the Baltimore hospitals, announced the decision to request an election — rather than voluntarily recognize the union, as a group of residents requested last month — in an email Thursday to the medical center’s residents and fellows.
“We value you and believe it is important that each of you has a voice to share feedback and concerns, or act as an advocate on behalf of your patients,” he wrote. “We also support your right to engage, or not engage, with a labor union. For these reasons, we believe having an election is the only way to ensure every single resident and fellow in the proposed bargaining unit will be able to have a voice in this important decision.”
Citing a desire to advocate more effectively for their patients, colleagues and community, a group of residents and fellows from the medical center’s downtown and midtown campuses delivered a letter April 25 to O’Malley, informing him of their intention to unionize.
Resident physicians and fellows at the University of Maryland Medical Center on Thursday notified the institution’s leaders of their intent to unionize. (Photo courtesy of AFT-Maryland)
Residents told The Baltimore Sun that they want administrators to better consider their voices before making changes to programs or workflow at the medical center, and ensure certain benefits to the physicians, regardless of their department. They also want wages commensurate with those offered at nearby hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins Medicine.
There are about 950 residents — doctors who have graduated from medical school, but are getting post-graduate training in their specialties — between the downtown and midtown campuses. They are organizing with the Maryland chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, which already represents nurses at some state psychiatric hospitals and some who work for county health departments.
In an emailed statement, Nazary Nebeluk, a second-year resident physician in the center’s internal medicine research pathway program, said that he and his coworkers welcome the medical center’s response and look forward to a “fair and unbiased election.”
“This is a meaningful and historic step forward for residents and fellows in the state of Maryland,” he said. “This is also a chance for UMMC leadership, residents and fellows to work together as equals toward solving problems at the hospital.”
If the physicians vote to unionize, it will be the first time that a group of residents and fellows form a union in Maryland, Ray Baker, AFT Maryland’s communications director, told the Sun last month. Residents participating in the push have said they are confident that a “supermajority” of their coworkers support the effort and will vote in favor of unionizing.
In O’Malley’s message to the medical center’s residents and fellows, he encouraged them to consider “both sides” of what it means to be part of a labor union. He linked to a website created by the medical center, entitled “UMMC Stay Informed,” which includes largely negative information about the consequences of joining a union and the lengthy process of collective bargaining.
In Nebeluk’s statement, he said he and his coworkers are “saddened” the medical center has chosen to devote resources to impeding the election process, including hiring outside counsel. Those resources, he said, could have gone toward patient care, supporting staff and facility maintenance.
“We hope this decision does not betray the open spirit of their letter and contribute to burdensome delays on the formation process going forward,” he said.”
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