University at Buffalo residents have agreed to ratify a new contract that addresses salary, health care and professional development.
The contract is a first for UB’s medical trainees and provides salaries on par with peer New York state medical schools and funding for their health insurance costs and professional development, according to the union.
Other contract highlights include:
- Salary increases ranging from 17.3% to 34.4% over the three-year contract (depending on program year)
- Caps on healthcare premiums
- Establishment of a Labor/Management Committee and Stakeholder-HSO Working Group to improve communication between stakeholders and troubleshoot workplace issues
- Establishment of resident and fellow Peer Representatives to provide contract education, contract enforcement, and workplace support
- Annual $2,000 per resident education and professional development fund
- $500 contract signing bonus
- Annual $40,000 emergency medical expense fund (for residents and fellows experiencing hardship due to out-of-pocket medical expenses)
- Robust union protection and grievance procedures
- UAPD union dues of 0.9%—the lowest physician dues in the United States
- $1,500 annual Chief Resident salary supplement
“This is a game-changing first contract for Buffalo’s frontline providers,” said UAPD President Dr. Stuart Bussey. “We look forward to working with UMRS and the University at Buffalo’s Office of Graduate Medical Education to make residents' workplace even stronger, as well as help recruit the nation’s finest medical trainees to Western New York."
“UMRS is pleased that this agreement has been reached and ratified,” said UMRS legal counsel Lawrence Ross. “UMRS, its hospital partners and the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will continue to partner to provide residents and fellows with exceptional medical training and learning opportunities as all parties work together to improve health care in Western New York.”
This contract is effective immediately and extends through June 2027.