Elmhurst Hospital Residents Vote to Join CIR

Residents at Elmhurst Hospital have voted to join the Council of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU Healthcare)!  Last September, 140 Elmhurst residents petitioned for the right to join the union, in response to the fact that they are paid roughly $5,000- $10,000 less per year than their counterparts at other public and private hospitals. The residents are on the payroll of Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.

“Now it’s time for next step, which is the contract negotiations,” said Dr. Yasmin Sanchez, a Pediatrics resident. “We hope to continue to have a strong relationship with our program directors and Mount Sinai administrators. We are optimistic for the future and ready to sit down and talk.”

Despite fierce opposition from Mt. Sinai, which petitioned the NLRB, the Board ruled that the residents have a right to join the union. Now these residents can stand with the other 13,000 members of CIR to collectively bargain for better wages.

"I'm very glad about the result and I'm glad the waiting is over and we can finally move forward to come up with a contract that both sides can agree on and that hopefully will make our situation and the patients' situation better," said Fabian Engelbertz, a second year Pediatrics resident.

Congratulations to our new union brothers & sisters!