Report of the Housestaff Organizing Committee, 9/29/06
Dear Residents and Fellows,
I am writing to inform you about the outcome of the Housestaff Organizing Committee Meeting on Thursday, September 28th. The meeting was called to discuss forming a union for all housestaff here at UNM with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), a national union for housestaff. Let me begin by expressing my thanks to all of the residents who attended the meeting. It was inspiring to see a large multidisciplinary resident body together expressing their questions, concerns, and opinions. For those who did not make the meeting, I hope that this will provide you with some information regarding the next steps in this important process.
The meeting was very successful. There were about 60 housestaff in attendance representing almost every specialty. During the meeting we had an open and honest discussion about what we hope to achieve by unionizing both for ourselves and for our patients. We posed tough questions to both the CIR organizers and a CIR member (a Peds Fellow and UNM grad from Harbor/UCLA). Additionally, we had the ability to express our opinions and concerns about our current situation and the future if we become unionized. Two major things were decided during this meeting.
The first: we decided to continue with the support of CIR as the housestaff union assisting with our efforts to unionize and to organize ourselves as a local union chapter of CIR. As discussed, we felt that this was the best group to represent our interest. Furthermore, they have the most extensive knowledge and experience when dealing with resident unions.
Second, it was decided that we would begin collecting signatures on a petition in support of forming a union for housestaff . The purpose of this petition is to assess the interest of the whole Resident body in regards to forming a Union. If we can collect signatures from an overwhelming majority of residents and fellows, we will submit the petition to the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board as a “Showing of Interest” and request a union election be set for all housestaff.
As you will see, many of your peers will be asking you for your signature. In addition, we have requested some additional help from CIR organizers with collecting these signatures. Therefore, a CIR organizer might contact you, which will also provide you with a personal opportunity to ask any questions on this issue. Please be courteous, they are here by our request to assist us in this matter.
Finally, if you would like to sign the petition or collect signatures for the petition, feel free to contact me or any CIR organizer. I will keep you all posted on the progress.
Sincerely,
Jose Pablo Sterling, MD
Chair Resident Council
jsterling@salud.unm.edu