Buffalo, NY — UB medical residents and fellows filed for a unionization vote with the National Labor Relations Board on Feb. 22, according to filings with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
If formed, the union would cover all 810 residents, fellows and interns — commonly referred to as house staff — who work in UB-affiliated hospitals under the Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD), a Sacramento, California-based union that represents doctors and other healthcare workers. A simple majority of those voting would have to approve of forming a union in order to do so.
A date for the election has yet to be determined, but a hearing with the NLRB is scheduled to take place in a matter of weeks, according to Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of UAPD.
“They want a union,” Bussey said of the UB house staff. “They called us up, and they’re tired of working long hours, low pay, a sort of condescending attitude from the administration.”
Some UB house staff said that they have “continuously been overworked and underpaid” on ubhousestaff.org, an anonymous website set up by some employees to push for a union.