San Francisco General Hospital Residents Ratify New Contract

Love, Dedication, and Improving San Francisco General Hospital

CIR’s negotiating team approached negotiations from every angle this year: meeting the Director of the Department of Public Health, surveying membership, debating tactics and writing proposals that would make a real difference in both residents’ and patients’ lives. They started negotiations in March, and ratified a great new contract, which covers more than 210 residents on June 7, 2006. The underlying theme for their negotiations was: Residents are here because we love San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), we are at the bargaining table to make improvements to patient care, and our proposals are fair and will allow us to better serve the community we are dedicated to.
 
Following four meetings and an additional meeting with the Director of the Public Health Department, the CIR negotiating team was able to meet most of its goals including: an 8% raise for the coming academic year, followed by subsequent 4%, and 3% increases for the next two years. In addition, $20,000 has been added annually to the Patient Care Fund, there are more parking spaces in the on-call lot, new mattresses for all the on-call rooms, a substantial increase in the bilingual pay, and political action contribution language added to the contract.
 
Reflecting on her experience, Dr. Lisa Tang, a PGY 2 in Family and Community Medicine, said  “As a result of the tremendous amount of support from our CIR staff, we, the residents, at San Francisco General Hospital, successfully negotiated for better wages and benefits. "My experience with the negotiation process is a testament to the words of Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ I feel empowered by the negotiation process and it will compel me to further my efforts in patient advocacy.”