New Contract Solidifies Gains at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Medical Center

 

Dr. Jack Braha (l.) talks with a colleague at Maimonides Medical Center.

For the 384 residents at Maimonides Medical Center, located in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, their second contract brought solid economic gains in the form of raises from 12-13%, depending on PGY year, an improved education allowance, and either a day off or extra pay for those who work on holidays. The contract was ratified on September 24, 2007 and expires on October 31, 2010.

The salary gains of 12-13% are “a good percentage, one of the highest this hospital has ever given,” said Dr. Jack Braha, a PGY 2 in Internal Medicine and a member of the negotiating committee. “There’s always room to grow, but this is definitely something to build on, and it’s only our second contract with CIR.  It feels like I’m helping out the next generation of residents at Maimonides and improving benefits so we can recruit desirable residents.”

“We have very good benefits provided by CIR, and our contribution will be eliminated by the end of this contract, which is in effect a hidden raise, which is wonderful,” said Dr. Braha. “Another gain is the education allowance of $500 a year in the last two years of residency.”

For Dr. Amy Lavorato, a PGY 2 in Pediatrics who was also involved in negotiations, the surprise was “how good the settlement is overall.  We negotiated for five months, meeting about every three weeks.”  Based on her experience, Dr. Lavorato said she would recommend to other housestaff who are just beginning negotiations, “don’t give up!”

“Negotiations weren’t tense,” said Dr. Braha. “The hospital has a vested interest in us, and we have a vested interest in the hospital. We just had to make residents’ voice heard.”

He credits the CIR reps with, “being incredibly supportive and teaching us a great deal about negotiation tactics.  If anything, CIR has made our program stronger, and communication between programs and administration stronger.  Residents in different programs and hospital leadership working together make for a better program.  We’re doing very well together.”