Divided Doctors Approve Public Hospital Labor Deal, With Three Facilities Voting No

Doctors Council SEIU Announces Tentative Agreement

Attending physicians in ten of the city’s public hospitals system facilities voted to approve a new contract with Health + Hospitals and its affiliates, their union, Doctors Council SEIU, announced Monday, ending their protracted negotiations that culminated with the threat of a strike at several public hospitals earlier this month.

Facilities Voting No

But a majority of physicians at three other H+H facilities — Jacobi Medical Center, North Central Bronx Hospital and Harlem Hospital Center — rejected the deal and will go back into bargaining with the city and the private employers who provide the staffing.

Reasons for Voting No

The votes followed an organized systemwide opposition campaign that cited limited pay increases and a lack of measures to help retain staff as among reasons to vote no.

A Jan. 20 Zoom meeting of contract critics at one point had over 100 rank and file attendees, according to several sources who attended.

Agreement Details

The agreement with NYC Health + Hospitals, Mount Sinai Health System, NYU and Physician Affiliate Group (PAGNY), who collectively employ some 2,500 doctors with H+H, includes salary increases, bonuses for doctors who worked through the pandemic, and retention bonuses to discourage staff turnover for designated specialties.

Controversies Surrounding the Deal

But where city employee contracts typically make any pay increases retroactive to the expiration of the prior contract, none but the facilities affiliated with PAGNY get retroactive pay under the deal even though the last contract expired in September 2023.

Doctors who voted against the contract also cited varying pay between doctors at different H+H facilities and slashed appointment times as reasons why they voted against the deal. State law prohibits public employees from striking, but because the doctors are jointly employed by private companies they were exempt from those rules under certain conditions.

Union Response

In a statement, union president Dr. Frances Quee said that the union is “committed to working with members from the facilities that did not approve the proposed contract.”

“Across the H+H system, no one knows more about the unique conditions of each hospital than the doctors there every day providing care for New York’s most vulnerable patients,” added Dr. Quee, who is a pediatrician at H+H Gotham Health in Manhattan.

Employer Response

Christopher Miller, a spokesperson for H+H, said in a statement that “We are pleased that the large majority of our unionized doctors voted to ratify the tentative agreement between our affiliates and the Doctors Council.”

He added that “We believe the agreement is fair to our physicians, and also addresses the shared goals of doctor recruitment and retention. We want to ensure that we can continue to serve all New Yorkers who require health care, without exception.”

‘Corporation Logic’

In the lead-up to the agreement and as voting was underway, doctors who spoke with THE CITY alleged they were under pressure from their own union to accept what they viewed as a substandard deal.

But the blame, said one bargaining committee member who voted to reject the deal, ultimately rests on their employers.

“This seems to be the culmination of a union-busting campaign to keep doctors divided, take away benefits and cut our pay relative to inflation, and promote high turnover of doctors, which seems to be the business plan for Mount Sinai and PAGNY and NYU, which disadvantages patients,” said the doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from their employer.

Conclusion

The tentative agreement between Doctors Council SEIU and Health + Hospitals and its affiliates has been met with mixed reactions from doctors. While ten facilities have voted to approve the deal, three facilities have rejected it, citing concerns over pay increases and lack of measures to retain staff. The union and employers will continue to negotiate with the facilities that did not approve the deal, with the goal of reaching a fair agreement that benefits both doctors and patients.

FAQs

Q: What is the tentative agreement between Doctors Council SEIU and Health + Hospitals and its affiliates?

A: The agreement includes salary increases, bonuses for doctors who worked through the pandemic, and retention bonuses to discourage staff turnover for designated specialties.

Q: Why did some doctors reject the deal?

A: Doctors who voted against the contract cited limited pay increases and a lack of measures to help retain staff as among reasons to vote no.

Q: What will happen next?

A: The union and employers will continue to negotiate with the facilities that did not approve the deal, with the goal of reaching a fair agreement that benefits both doctors and patients.