Two years ago, there were several articles in the mainstream press about residents being over-worked as the pandemic tore through the US. Residents were exposed to dangerous working conditions. There was talk of residents considering joining or forming unions, like many workers in other sectors of the economy, to gain protections that only organization can bring.
Was there any hazard pay? Were there substantial raises in base pay for trainees? Did residents and fellows negotiate with employers to win any protections or improvements in working conditions?
What became of this discontent? Were residents able to channel their anger into changes in their power as workers? Did they ally with other healthcare workers and together demand better salaries? How much wealth did residents produce by their labor in 2020, 2021, and in the first three months of 2022? How much of this was pocketed by the hospitals and investors? How much of this wealth was redistributed to the workers that created it? How did the CEOs of hospitals receive record pay during the past two years?
What lessons about organizing and the imperative to fight for workers' rights can resident doctors take from the recent success of Amazon workers in Staten Island, who won an important first round against the most powerful company in the world? How can workers in other Amazon plants and in other parts of Amazon spread this labor militancy, and how can other American workers join in labor struggles? How is Amazon going to react? Of the Amazon workers that didn't support the unionization effort, what were the reasons for their hesitation? How much did Amazon spend to misinform the workers, to make them fearful, to dissuade them from understanding that unionization was in their best interest? What lessons can residents learn from this?
Also, two years ago, after the police murder of George Floyd, there were record protests involving millions of people here and around the world. What became of this mobilization and political awakening? Did it get absorbed and diverted into the 2020 election? Why wasn't the expansion of medicare a proposal that was seriously pursued, as a means of improving the health and life of Americans, and in fighting injustice? How can the two struggles of improving caregiver well-being and also challenging the for-profit medical system be intentionally connected, and what role can residents play in expanding our power?
Your comments, questions, criticisms are welcome. One thing I have found helpful is to debate the idea, not the person.
Was there any hazard pay? Were there substantial raises in base pay for trainees? Did residents and fellows negotiate with employers to win any protections or improvements in working conditions?
What became of this discontent? Were residents able to channel their anger into changes in their power as workers? Did they ally with other healthcare workers and together demand better salaries? How much wealth did residents produce by their labor in 2020, 2021, and in the first three months of 2022? How much of this was pocketed by the hospitals and investors? How much of this wealth was redistributed to the workers that created it? How did the CEOs of hospitals receive record pay during the past two years?
What lessons about organizing and the imperative to fight for workers' rights can resident doctors take from the recent success of Amazon workers in Staten Island, who won an important first round against the most powerful company in the world? How can workers in other Amazon plants and in other parts of Amazon spread this labor militancy, and how can other American workers join in labor struggles? How is Amazon going to react? Of the Amazon workers that didn't support the unionization effort, what were the reasons for their hesitation? How much did Amazon spend to misinform the workers, to make them fearful, to dissuade them from understanding that unionization was in their best interest? What lessons can residents learn from this?
Also, two years ago, after the police murder of George Floyd, there were record protests involving millions of people here and around the world. What became of this mobilization and political awakening? Did it get absorbed and diverted into the 2020 election? Why wasn't the expansion of medicare a proposal that was seriously pursued, as a means of improving the health and life of Americans, and in fighting injustice? How can the two struggles of improving caregiver well-being and also challenging the for-profit medical system be intentionally connected, and what role can residents play in expanding our power?
Your comments, questions, criticisms are welcome. One thing I have found helpful is to debate the idea, not the person.
