ABOUT THE NATIONAL DOCTORS ALLIANCE/SEIU
Founded on March 1, 1999, the National Doctors Alliance/SEIU is the largest organization of salaried physicians and dentists in the United States, representing approximately 15,000 unionized doctors nationwide. The National Doctors Alliance/SEIU is an organization of doctors, by doctors, and for doctors. Its major functions are to address issues of common concern for doctors, protect patient rights, and to determine the best and most efficient course of action for organizing new members throughout the country.
The
National Doctors Alliance/SEIU fights those who would limit a doctor’s ability
to diagnose and treat according to the highest standards of medical care and
technology available. We will make
sure that medical decisions are made by doctors, not by corporations, hospital
administrators. The National
Doctors Alliance/SEIU represents doctors on economic as well as professional
issues.
The National Doctors Alliance/SEIU can negotiate wages, work hours, benefits, due process protections, and other conditions of employment. It strives to give doctors more say in the treatment of their patients. NATIONAL DOCTORS ALLIANCE/SEIU will help enhance the quality of healthcare by giving doctors a greater say in how they treat their patients and help ensure that doctors work in an atmosphere where they have the authority that matches their skill, knowledge and responsibility.
The National Doctors Alliance/SEIU links Doctors Council, the Committee of Interns and Residents and the United Salaried Physicians and Dentists - the three physician unions affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). It was formed on March 1, 1999 and represents 15,000 organized doctors in SEIU.
The
National Doctors Alliance/SEIU is the result of an affiliation between Doctors
Council and the Service Employee International Union (SEIU).
As part of the affiliation, Doctors Council has linked up with two of
SEIU’s locals: the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) and the United
Salaried Physicians and Dentists (USPD) to create the NDA.
The National Doctors Alliance/SEIU links Doctors Council, the
Committee of Interns and Residents and United Salaried Physicians
and Dentists – the three physician unions affiliated with the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU. It
was formed on Mach 1, 1999 and represents 15,000 organized doctors in
SEIU
With the addition of Doctors Council, SEIU bolsters its position as the pre-eminent health care union in the country. Today, SEIU is the nation's largest health care union with more than 600,000 members working in every health care setting, public and private, from coast to coast. In recent years, SEIU has expanded its ranks with the addition of CIR, USPD, and 1199 (National Health and Human Service Employees Union). SEIU is the AFL-CIO's third-largest union, and the largest union in New York State (350,000 members).
The
National Doctors Alliance/SEIU links Doctors Council, Committee of Interns and
Residents and the United Salaried Physicians
and Dentists - the three
physician unions affiliated with the Service Employees International Union
(SEIU). It was formed on March 1,
1999 and represents 15,000 organized doctors in SEIU
Doctors Council
Doctors
Council
is the oldest doctors union in the United States, representing approximately
2,500 physicians, dentists, and podiatrists in the New York City area.
Throughout its 24-year history, Doctors Council has been a strong
advocate for quality health care, stepping in to save many vital community
health programs from cutbacks and elimination.
Doctors Council is a multifaceted organization with sub-divisions in law,
public relations, government relations and contract negotiation.
Doctors Council is authorized by Federal, state and city law to
exclusively represent doctors in collective bargaining.
The
Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest and most experienced
house staff union in the country and currently represents over 9,000 interns,
residents, and fellows in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida,
California, and the District of Columbia.
Since
its founding in 1957, CIR has negotiated collective bargaining agreements with
over 50 public and private hospitals. With
an experienced and professional staff of more than 40 to support its members’
collective bargaining, organizing, and patient care advocacy efforts, CIR has
been the strongest voice for resident work hour reform for over 40 years.
CIR affiliated with SEIU in 1997 to better respond to the rapid
consolidation and changes in the US health care system.
United
Salaried Physicians and Dentists
United Salaried
Physicians and Dentists (USPD) is a
very active union of post-residency doctors.
USPD represents over 1000 doctors on both the East and West coasts. Within the past year USPD has doubled in size, successfully
organizing the largest network of health clinics in Seattle, Washington and its
second public hospital in New York City. Currently,
it is conducting an affiliation drive among doctors in Pennsylvania
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is the pre-eminent health care union in the country. Today, SEIU is the nation's largest health care union with more than 600,000 members working in every health care setting, public and private, coast to coast. In recent years, SEIU has also been joined by CIR, USPD, Doctors Council and 1199 (National Health and Human Service Employees Union). SEIU is the AFL-CIO's third-largest union and the largest union in New York State with 350,000 members, and the largest in California with -------- members
Doctors’
and patients’ rights are under attack like never before.
As hospitals, insurance companies and managed care companies amass power
through consolidation and mergers, it is becoming harder and harder for doctors
to be heard. Unions provide an
effective voice for doctors at the
bargaining table to fight threats like unrealistic productivity agreements which
reduce the amount of time doctors can spend with patients.
Only
by increasing our numbers can we gain strength in this healthcare environment.
And only by gaining strength, can we take back control of our profession. A union provides doctors with greater access to key decision
makers in the government and medical communities.
AREN'T DOCTORS RIGHTS ALREADY SAFEGUARDED
Although other organizations provide important educational and professional
services to doctors, they can not provide doctors with the same protections and
services as a union.
Under
their current structures, other
professional medical societies are prohibited from entering into economic
negotiations on behalf of their constituents.
Only unions like Doctors Council, Committee of Interns and
Residents and United Salaried Physicians and Dentists have a proven track record
of collective bargaining representation for physicians. .
IS
IT LEGAL FOR DOCTORS TO ORGANIZE?
Federal
law clearly permits salaried physicians (i.e. employees who receive a W-2 form from their employer) to be
organized into a union. A union can
negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions, in addition to providing
legal assistance to assure due process in instances of disputes with management.
Current anti-trust law prohibits unions from negotiating fees for private practice fee-for-service doctors.
As
doctors, we have all taken the Hippocratic Oath, and have sworn to
“Do no harm”. It is an oath
we take seriously, and at no time will a strike ever threaten our patients’
care.
Strikes
are usually the first issue raised by critics in any discussion about doctors’
unions. In reality, strikes are the
last resort; the overwhelming majority of contracts are settled without
having to strike. There are many
other effective strategies that doctors can utilize to ensure that they are
treated fairly by their employers. .
Building coalitions with community and
patient groups, and employing political pressure are just a few actions that
doctors can take to win a fair contract.
Only
you and your colleagues decide whether or not you go out on strike.
The union does not force anyone to strike; it is solely the decision of
the bargaining unit members as to what action you agree to take.
A very large majority of the members would have to vote to strike, and
again, it would be the very last resort. The
history of the doctors unions in the Service Employees International Union has
shown that those few instances over the last 40 years, where doctors have gone
on strike, they have done so to insure proper patient care, and not for any
other reason.
In
today's world of changing medical economics, managed care companies increasingly
are in control. To many, Medicine
in the 90's has become just another business; in consequence, doctors'
compensation, working conditions and their methods of treatment are being
dictated by third party payers. Often,
hospital administrators are caught in the middle.
Doctors unions should not be feared by management, rather they can offer
administrators support for innovative programs that enhance the quality of
patient care within their institutions.
A
union provides a structure that enables doctors from all clinical services to
voice their concerns and provide input regarding issues that affect them and
their patients. The union can also
facilitate the settlement of disputes between the administration and individual
doctors so that workplace grievances do not become personal.
Finally, any process that brings about communication and forges
partnerships between health care administrators and health care providers
enhances the vitality of the medical institution itself.
SEIU
(Service Employees International Union) is the AFL-CIO's third-largest union,
representing more than 600,000 healthcare workers. It is also the largest union in New York State with a total
of 350,000 members. Doctors
Council, the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), United Salaried
Physicians and Dentists (USPD), and 1199 (National Health and Human Service
Employees Union) have all joined SEIU in recent years, making it the pre-eminent
health care union in the country.
WHAT
IS THE NATIONAL DOCTORS ALLIANCE/SEIU?
The National Doctors Alliance/SEIU comprises approximately 15,000 member doctors from across the country, making it the largest organization of unionized doctors in the United States. The Alliance’s major goals are to address issues of common concern for doctors and to organize new members across the country.