Med School Faculty Vote on Unionization

Cash-Strapped UConn Health Center Facing Unionization Vote on November 17 and 18; UCHC Is Against Unionization - Capitol Watch:
The vote will be held Nov. 17 and 18, from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Teaching, research and clinical faculty members are eligible to vote. If they vote to unionize, they would form a new chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which represents UConn faculty on the Storrs and regional campuses.


'If we're going to move forward on that, we need to get all the parties together on the same page and figure out how we're going to go - which is the governor, the hospitals, UConn, Democrats, Republicans,'' Donovan said. 'When we did UConn $2 billion, everybody was in on it. Right now, there seems to be less and less people interested in it. It's important to do something about the hospital, but what it is right now, I couldn't tell you.''"

Further details on the union vote are at http://www.courant.com/health/hc-uconn-union-vote-1015.artoct15,0,3447185.story

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By Ed Marth on October 15, 2009 5:31 PM

I think it is very hard to capture a story about a union vote at the Health Center. It is not just because the UCONN hospital is "cash-strapped", it is also about the undesirable alternatives recently being considered, like a twenty-five percent pay cut for faculty or the non-compete clause as considerations were being given to essentially turning over clinical operations to Hartford Hospital.
President Hogan is right; something has to be done. Many faculty think a seat at the table is better than being in the audience in such deliberations. The clinical and basic science faculty, the research and teaching doctors want as much as anyone to find a solution to this microcosm of the larger health care problem. It is not just about a union vote.