Union News: Deal with Docs

From the news section of the UC website:

UC and CIR-SEIU Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

July 16, 2026

The University of California and the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, reached a tentative agreement [last] Wednesday night on a new systemwide contract covering approximately 6,400 interns, residents and fellows. 

The agreement follows negotiations that began in August 2025 to replace eight separate location-based contracts with one systemwide agreement. 

“We appreciate the work of both bargaining teams to reach this tentative agreement,” said Missy Matella, associate vice president for Systemwide Employee and Labor Relations at the University of California. “It supports UC’s continued commitment to these valuable employees and to medical education, clinical training and high-quality patient care.” 

Interns, residents and fellows provide critical care across UC hospitals, medical centers and affiliated clinical sites while completing advanced medical training. 

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by CIR-SEIU members. More information will be available after the ratification process is complete.

Source: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/index%2ephp/press-room/uc-and-cir-seiu-reach-tentative-contract-agreement.

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From the union website:

UC Resident Doctors Win Historic Statewide Contract after Year-Long Fight

July 17, 2026

Over 6,400 UC Resident and Fellow Physicians Secure Crucial Support for Fair Wages, Benefit Protections, and Workplace Safety with a Focus on Improved Patient Care 

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California — After a year of tough negotiations, coordinated collective actions, and increasing political support, the resident physicians and fellows at the University of California (UC) reached a tentative agreement on their first statewide contract with UC Health this past Wednesday. Represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU), the doctors say that the deal – which includes 18% salary increase, preservation of fertility benefits, improved access to radiation exposure equipment, immigrant protections for patients, and critical improvements to address emergency room capacity, among others – will directly impact their wellbeing and their ability to provide the best patient care for the 2.5 million Californians they serve across the state in the largest public healthcare system in the country.     

“We are very happy with what we were able to negotiate for our futures, including the wage increases, better access to properly fitting lead, and enshrining our fertility benefits in this contract. However, we’re also really proud that we were able to win language for our patients, especially for the immigrant communities we serve so that they can receive care with less fear, and for all our patients who have had to contend with issues related to emergency room capacity. This is a great starting point and we look forward to ratifying this contract and to continuing to advocate for all of our patients at the UC’s from San Diego up to Sacramento,” said Dr. Diana Dayal, UCLA Emergency Medicine Resident. 

This victory for UC residents and fellows comes after a 12 month long contract fight, marked by UC executive representatives’ attempts to claw back existing benefits and protections while also submitting to pressures from the Trump administration around DEI and ICE. However, over the course of negotiations, the UC residents and fellows participated in a series of escalating collective actions that culminated most publicly in June in a series of eighteen unity breaks at multiple UC sites in Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, Riverside, Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego, and neighboring hospitals where the UC residents and fellows work. In these actions, the UC physicians called for a fair contract that addressed rising cost of living, keeping their fertility benefits intact, and demanding that UC administration address emergency room capacity so that patients can receive timely care with diginity when they are at their most vulnerable. 

Now that the UC resident bargaining team has reached a deal with UC executives, they look forward to providing the best healthcare possible while also continuing to transform residency for future generations of doctors, all with an eye on patient care. “Resident working conditions are patient care conditions,” said Dr. Gloria Tavera, UCSF Gastroenterology Fellow. She continued, “With a contract that covers all residents and fellows at the UC’s, we are more united than ever in ensuring that we keep the pressure on administration to ensure that the contract language is enforced – for our futures, for the futures of those coming up behind us, and for our patients’ futures.” 

The CIR UC bargaining team will be presenting the tentative agreement (TA) to the full membership with a ratification vote to occur in the coming weeks across California. Once the TA is approved by the CIR UC resident and fellow doctors, then the contract will take effect.

Source: https://www.cirseiu.org/uc-resident-doctors-win-historic-statewide-contract-after-year-long-fight/.