This Workers’ Labor Day, we honor generations of workers whose solidarity and courage won us the rights we have today: the right to organize, collectively bargain, and demand dignity and respect on the job. These victories were not handed out to us, they were won through the unity and persistence of working people.
Today carries special significance as we face unprecedented threats to our collective voice and worker protections as union members. We are living through a pivotal moment for organized labor. Hostile policymakers have made their priorities clear—they do not want to strengthen worker rights or protect our ability to organize. Meanwhile, cuts to healthcare funding and Medicaid threaten to further strain our already overburdened healthcare system. We cannot allow healthcare administrators to use funding pressures and Medicaid reimbursement cuts as excuses to dictate the terms of our practice, compromise patient care through understaffing, or erode our professional standards.
We must not let this weaken the foundation of collective action and bargaining power that has secured us fair wages, safe working conditions, and professional autonomy. Instead, we must strengthen our resolve to protect what we’ve built and fought for.
Your union has always been your strongest advocate—fighting for fair compensation, comprehensive benefits that provide security and peace of mind for you and your families, reasonable call schedules, adequate staffing levels, and the clinical autonomy essential to quality patient care. Together, we’ve secured significant contract victories and workplace protections. However, the challenges ahead will require more power and leverage at the bargaining table—it demands active participation from every member.
Now more than ever, we must recommit ourselves to building solidarity, supporting one another, and taking action when it counts. The strength of our union comes from each of us. By acting collectively, we can ensure our voice is heard and our profession is protected.
To our members:
Stay involved. Attend meetings, participate in contract discussions, and support our efforts by talking to your colleagues and having them join the fold. When it’s time to take action, whether it’s letter writing campaigns, informational pickets, walk-outs, or other collective actions—stand with us.
To our nonmembers on the sidelines:
Attacks on worker rights and healthcare affect all of us, union members and nonmembers alike. There’s never been a more critical time to join us. Only by coming together can we protect ourselves and secure a better future for our profession. Join your union today.
Every right we enjoy as working professionals was won through the courage and sacrifice of those before us—secured through organization, solidarity, and collective action. Our union was built by physicians who understood that securing fair treatment and professional autonomy required more than just individual power—it required unity.
The road ahead is uncertain and it may not be easy, but we’ve faced challenges before and emerged stronger. Today, let us not only celebrate past victories but also recommit ourselves to the fight ahead. We are stronger than any challenge we face when we stand together. Let’s work towards a future where all working professionals are respected, protected, and heard.
We will not be divided.
We will not be silenced.
We will not back down.
In solidarity,
Stuart Bussey, MD, JD
UAPD President