UB resident physicians reach contract agreement with UMRS
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — University at Buffalo resident physicians on Friday reached a union contract agreement with University Medical Resident Services (UMRS) after over a year at the bargaining table with UB and local hospitals.
The agreement addresses UB resident physicians’ salaries, health care and professional development needs, Hurwitz Fine, UMRS’ legal counsel, and the Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD) said in a statement on Monday. The deal comes after over 800 residents went on a four-day strike in September. At the time, the UAPD claimed that the residents were paid the least in New York State.
UB resident physicians strike for better pay, better benefits
Residents were asking for better work conditions, pay and benefits, while UMRS said in September that its previous proposal was fair.
The contract, which extends through June 2027, was approved with 96 percent of the vote, UMRS and the UAPD said. It increases residents’ salaries by a range of 17.3 percent to 34.4 percent over the course of the contract.
The deal provides $2,000 annually to each resident for education and professional development, a $500 contract signing bonus and $40,000 annually for emergency medical expenses, to name a few.
“UMRS is pleased that this agreement has been reached and ratified,” said Hurwitz Fine member Lawrence Ross in the statement. “UMRS, its hospital partners and the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will continue to partner to provide residents and fellows with exceptional medical training and learning opportunities as all parties work together to improve health care in Western New York.”
UAPD union dues will now be 0.9 percent, which are the lowest physician dues in the country, according to the statement.
Residents said they look forward to continuing to provide care to patients in Buffalo and called the agreement a “monumental step” for residents and fellows across the country.
“This is a game-changing first contract for Buffalo’s frontline providers,” said UAPD President Dr.
Stuart Bussey in the statement. “We look forward to working with UMRS and the University at Buffalo’s Office of Graduate Medical Education to make residents’ workplace even stronger, as well as help recruit the nation’s finest medical trainees to Western New York.”
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Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.
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