These Doctors Make $15 Per Hour – And They Want A Raise From Rutgers

NEWARK, NJ — Ask Dr. Tzeidel Eichenberg why dozens of unionized resident physicians and fellows at Rutgers gathered at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School at University Hospital in Newark this week, and here’s the reply you’ll get: “We’re passionate about providing the best care to our patients, but we shouldn’t have to sacrifice our well-being or major life milestones to complete our medical training at Rutgers.”

Earning $14.84 per hour with an 80-hour workweek as a first-year physician will do that to you, Eichenberg’s peers say.

Eichenberg was among the working doctors unionized with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) who took part in Thursday’s action, which they called a “unity break” – not a strike.

Although contract talks with the 12 unions that represent more than 15,000 teachers, clinicians and other workers at Rutgers have progressed since a headline-grabbing strike earlier this month, there are still no agreements on paper and ink as of Friday.

See the university’s website on the strike and ongoing negotiations here.

The three unions involved in the April 10 strike – which represent about 9,000 educators, clinicians and researchers – announced Friday that they’ve agreed to a general framework with Rutgers administrators. But negotiations with other unions at Rutgers continue to drag on – including with the CIR.

According to the union, which represents more than 1,100 resident physicians – who work largely at University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – here’s why they were protesting on Thursday:

“Regularly working 80-hour weeks and exhausting themselves to keep patients well in understaffed hospitals–and for pay that barely exceeds the New Jersey minimum wage–the physicians say they cannot wait for a fair contract. CIR, which represents more than 1,100 Rutgers physicians, has been in negotiations with the university since August … Rutgers is continuing to reject the physicians’ demands around fair pay that will help them afford the cost of living in New Jersey, as well as benefits like mental health care, health care from day one of residency, and adequate transportation and education funds. The doctors say their pay and benefits are falling behind other residency programs in the region, which, with unfilled residency spots in New Jersey, will compromise Rutgers’ ability to continue attracting a diverse and talented physician workforce to the state.”

“We shouldn’t have to sacrifice our basic well-being to complete our residency,” Rutgers resident Dr. Ali Cooper said.

“We should be able to care for ourselves and our families, but as it stands, we are burning out in order to keep our hospitals running,” Cooper said. “As a state institution, Rutgers has a responsibility to the communities we serve in places like University Hospital, the only public hospital in New Jersey. This responsibility includes investment in its resident physicians via agreement to a fair contract with CIR.”

The physicians were joined at Thursday’s rally by Assembly Member Britnee Timberlake, New Jersey State Senators Linda Greenstein and Joe Vitale, and members of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees Union (HPAE) and HPAE President Debbie White.

Reached for comment about the CIR rally, a Rutgers spokesperson told NJ Spotlight News that Rutgers “continues to negotiate in good faith with all of our unions to reach contracts that are fair, reasonable, and responsible.”

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