According to the NLRB filing, the bargaining unit will include all interns, residents, chief residents and physician fellows, amounting to about 850 people. They will be represented by the Committee for Interns and Residents, a national affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.
“BIDMC residents are joining together with residents across the country to advocate for the future of medicine and the communities they serve,” CIR/SEIU President A. Taylor Walker wrote in a statement to the Crimson.
BIDMC spokesperson Sarah Finlaw told the Crimson that the hospital “respects and supports the right of our trainees to make an informed decision about union representation, and we will proceed with the election process in accordance with all NLRB procedures.”
“However, we believe that working directly with trainees to support their unique role at BIDMC is the best path forward,” she added.
If they vote to unionize, the BIDMC workers will join a growing number of unionized physicians and residents in Boston. Primary care physicians at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals, both a part of Mass General Brigham, are also weighing unionization.
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