Loma Linda, CA, June 30, 2023 — More than 800 resident physicians and fellows at Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium (LLUHEC) have won the right to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD). This is the first unionized group of workers at LLUHEC.
“As a corporate healthcare institution, Loma Linda University Health is bound to the same labor laws as any other corporation and we are calling on LLUHEC to respect and acknowledge our union victory. The nation is watching as you continue to dismiss the voices of your residents and fellows,” said Dr. Jessica Muñoz, emergency medicine resident physician. “I look forward to LLUHEC recognizing the Loma Linda chapter of UAPD and sitting down to bargain in good faith to improve resident working conditions.”
With 71 percent majority support, this landslide victory gives LLUHEC resident physicians and fellows staffed at hospitals across the Inland Empire a voice in patient care. The National Labor Relations Board certified the results of the election on June 30.
“I am incredibly proud of my co-residents and fellows for choosing to stand up for themselves and to improve working conditions for themselves and generations of physicians to come,” said Dr. Darya Tajfiroozeh, pediatric resident physician. “Let our voices never be silenced again.”
“Today, the house staff employees of Loma Linda University Healthcare Education Consortium affirmed their rights to collectively bargain with their employer. The Union of American Physicians and Dentists looks forward to beginning bargaining as soon as possible for a mutually beneficial contract,” said Dr. Stuart Bussey, UAPD president