Unionization Efforts in Washington HospitalsUnionization Efforts in Washington Hospitals A group of 40 clinical staff members at Skagit Valley Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital in Washington state have filed a request to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD). The physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners plan to negotiate on issues such as patient volumes, wages, and benefits. The group’s rationale for unionization stems from concerns about increasing patient volumes and a shortage of physicians to handle the workload. This has raised concerns about the quality of patient care. The efforts are part of a broader trend towards unionization in the healthcare industry. Recently, 30 clinicians at PeaceHealth facilities in Bellingham, Washington, also filed to unionize with a UAPD-affiliated union. Over 400 doctors at ChristianaCare health system in Delaware have also voted to unionize. The Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission is expected to rule on the Skagit Valley and Cascade Valley hospitals’ unionization request in the coming weeks. A spokesperson for Skagit Regional Health noted that the unionized physicians are not employees of the health system but rather of Sound Physicians, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A group of 40 clinical staff members working at Skagit Valley Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital in Washington state have filed a request to unionize.
The physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who work under contract with Sound Physicians plan to join the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) to negotiate on workplace issues such as patient volumes, wages and benefits, the union said in an announcement.
“There are increasing patient volumes — and therefore increasing medical complexity — but there are not enough physicians to adequately manage the large patient volumes,” said Michelle Pham, MD, one of the physicians who filed a union petition. MedPage Today.
“This calls into question the delivery of safe, quality patient care,” Pham said, adding that “the union gives me hope that we as physicians can stand together and stand up for our patients.”
The reasons behind the group’s efforts to unite are not unique, Pham noted.
“Unfortunately, in the current state of health care, in order to increase health systems’ profits, the quality of patient care often declines,” UAPD President Stuart Bussey, MD, JD, said in a statement. “This focus on profits has created a situation where clinicians are forced to choose between meeting unrealistic patient quotas or providing the level of care that patients expect and need.”
This sentiment is shared by many physicians and other healthcare professionals across the country as unionization efforts continue.
Pham said she and her colleagues drew inspiration from the efforts of other doctors in nearby Bellingham, Washington, who recently embarked on a similar path. In May, MedPage Today reported that approximately 30 clinicians, including 25 physicians and five nurse practitioners, who work at two PeaceHealth facilities under a contract with Sound Physicians, had filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to join a union that was also affiliated with the UAPD.
MedPage Today also recently reported that more than 400 doctors from Delaware’s Christiana Hospital, Wilmington Hospital and Middletown Freestanding Emergency Department — all part of the ChristianaCare health system — have filed to unionize with Doctors Council SEIU Local 10MD. That union won an election last month.
The Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission is expected to rule on the hospital doctors’ request to unionize in the coming weeks, according to the UAPD.
A spokesperson for Skagit Regional Health, which includes Skagit Valley Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital, noted in an email that the unionized hospital physicians are not employees of the health system, but rather employees of Sound Physicians.
Sound Physicians did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Jennifer Henderson joined MedPage Today in January 2021 as an entrepreneurial and investigative journalist. She has written about New York health care, life sciences, and law.
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