Ready to Form a Union?
Who Can Join a Union?
Any doctor who is an employee has the right to join a labor union. This includes doctors directly employed by state or county agencies as well as by for-profit and non-profit private employers. While most UAPD-represented doctors work in California and Washington, we are helping doctors in other states to organize unions as well.
Why Unionize?
Unionization puts doctors back where they belong—in control of their work and with a leading role in health care. UAPD helps doctors negotiate improvements in their salaries, fringe benefits, job security, and working conditions. We can help doctors regain job satisfaction and improve the quality of the medical care that they deliver.
Why UAPD?
UAPD has successfully represented doctors for nearly 50 years. Affiliated with the 1.3 million member American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), UAPD can draw on extensive lobbying, research, and organizing power to support its efforts on behalf of doctors.
UNIONIZED WORKERS HAVE:
HIGHER WAGES
UAPD has negotiated major salary increases for its members in every bargaining unit that it represents.
MORE JOB SECURITY
UAPD members have “Just Cause” protections against unfair discipline and dismissal (learn more about Just Cause). Union members also have the right to representation in disciplinary meetings (learn more about Weingarten Rights).
SHORTER WORK WEEKS
UAPD has negotiated shorter work weeks and more reasonable work loads for many of its members.
EXCELLENT BENEFIT PACKAGES
UAPD has negotiated improvements on pension plans, health and dental insurance, educational leave, malpractice coverage, and other benefits for thousands of members.
PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY
Because regaining control over the quality of care is a top priority for medical professionals, UAPD has negotiated contracts that give ultimate authority to medical staff.
POWER IN NUMBERS
UAPD is affiliated with the American Federation of State and County Employees and AFL-CIO. These affiliations with larger groups have helped UAPD lobby more effectively for its members in Sacramento and Washington.
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
UAPD organizers can answer all your questions. Use our online contact form or call us at 1-800-585-6977.
FURTHER RESOURCES
Latest News
The experienced, professional labor negotiators on staff with UAPD know the issues of salaried doctors inside and out. They have the expertise to get the job done. No other union even comes close.
Your Right to Organize
People who are organizing a new union have many rights and protections under the law. Here are some basic facts.
Legal and Legislative
UAPD stewards and staff get advice and support from experienced labor attorneys and lobbyists.
Doctor-Led
UAPD is a democratically-run union governed by an elected executive board composed entirely of our members. All contracts must be ratified by the members working for that employer.
UNION DOCTOR NEWS
The Challenges Posed By COVID-19 Pushed Many Workers to Strike. Will the Labor Movement See Sustained Interest? TIME Magazine Cerue Cotton never expected to find herself on a picket line. As a forklift operator for Cash-Wa, a regional food distributor in Fargo, North Dakota, she enjoyed the physical challenges and responsibility of her job, and was used to working overnight hours …
For Health Care Workers, The Pandemic Is Fueling Renewed Interest In Unions KNPR – Nevada In September, after six months of exhausting work battling the pandemic, nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., voted to unionize. The vote passed with 70%, a high margin of victory in a historically anti-union state, according to academic experts …
It’s Time for Physicians to Organize — For Our Patients’ Sake Medscape This transcript has been edited for clarity. Eric J. Topol, MD: Hello. This is Eric Topol. Welcome to a new episode of the podcast “Medicine and the Machine.” I’m with Abraham Verghese, and today we’re going to delve into my recent New …
Union members can save thousands of dollars on products and services by taking advantage of discounts provided to union members by Union Plus and AFSCME Advantage.
