Resident physicians rally for collective bargaining at Anschutz campus in Aurora

This story was first published at Colorado Newsline.

AURORA | An association of roughly 1,300 resident physicians and fellows at the University of Colorado School of Medicine is escalating unionization efforts that it says have stalled in the face of opposition from school administrators and CU system leadership.

Supporters and members of the Housestaff Association of the University of Colorado Hospitals, which represents medical trainees, rallied outside CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora on Wednesday, urging leaders to voluntarily recognize the union’s right to collectively bargain on behalf of its members.

Over 900 of HSA’s 1,300 members have signed a petition in support of collective bargaining and full unionization, which was delivered to a meeting of the CU Board of Regents on Wednesday. It’s the latest step the organization has taken after nearly a year of talks with school administrators that have proven “unproductive, uncooperative and unsuccessful,” outgoing HSA co-president Nik Kaufman said at Wednesday’s rally.

“We have meetings with administrators from all levels of the university, including some of the regents,” said Kaufman, who recently finished his fourth year of residency at Anschutz and began a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine. “But we have yet to see movement or clarity, because CU has refused to bargain in good faith.”

Current and incoming HSA leaders say collective bargaining would establish a safe and transparent way for medical trainees to advocate for improved pay and working conditions, including standardized hours and rest periods between shifts.

“We got into this line of work because we want to help people,” said incoming co-president Simone Raiter, a third-year resident in interventional radiology who spoke at the rally a few hours after coming off a long night shift. “Every Coloradan deserves high-quality care, offered by doctors who are mentally and physically prepared and able to provide it.”

HSA, founded in 1969, describes itself as having operated as a “union-lite” group for most of its history, meeting informally with administrators to discuss trainees’ compensation and well-being. In recent years, its members have begun to advocate for a more formal collective bargaining contract, joining a wave of dozens of similar union drives among residents at medical schools across the country.

We got into this line of work because we want to help people … Every Coloradan deserves high-quality care, offered by doctors who are mentally and physically prepared and able to provide it.

• Simone Raiter, third-year resident in interventional radiology who is incoming co-president of the CU Housestaff Association

A law passed by the Colorado Legislature in 2023 expanded protections for public-sector union activity, but stopped short of guaranteeing full collective bargaining rights for all public employees.

In a statement, Mark Couch, the CU School of Medicine’s chief of staff and associate dean of public relations, said the existing relationship between the school and HSA has “yielded considerable positive results for residents and fellows,” including stipend increases, moving bonuses and other benefits.

“Leaders of the Graduate Medical Education office are disappointed in how the HSA leaders who organized (Wednesday’s) event are portraying our shared commitment to their success,” Couch said. “We are committed to continuing our work with all 1,300 residents and fellows to prepare them to become outstanding physicians who offer compassionate care to our patients.”

But a collective bargaining contract would provide certainty for residents, said Gaiter, who became more involved with HSA after what she called “b.s.” during negotiations over salary and benefits increases.

“We were initially promised what would have been a 20% increase, and they reneged on that,” Gaiter said. “And I learned more over time that this is not a new thing. This has been happening for the past 40-plus years.”

With the School of Medicine refusing to voluntarily recognize HSA’s collective bargaining rights, members are urging CU regents — a nine-member governing board elected by Colorado voters — to direct recognition instead.

“To have gotten over 70% of our members (to sign the petition), I think it shows that the regents should not ignore us,” Kaufman said. “They should do the right thing.”

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