Rutgers Doctors Nix Rallies Due To Wildfires; Union Push Continues

NEWARK, NJ — Resident physicians employed by Rutgers University called off their planned picket lines in Newark and New Brunswick last week due to air quality alerts from the Canadian wildfires. But according to a union that represents more than 1,100 employees who work largely at University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, their push for a new contract will continue.

The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) had planned to hold a rally on June 7 at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark and at the Clinical Academic Building at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

Their plans got thrown for a loop because of the wildfires, which left the air quality in Newark – and other places across New Jersey – at an “unhealthy” level. Read More: Air Hits ‘Unhealthy’ Level In Newark Due To Wildfire Smoke (Update)

According to their union, the doctors – who make as little as $15 per hour while working 80-hour weeks – are calling for “a fair contract with a living wage.” They’re also demanding improvements to core benefits like transportation and mental health care, so that they can “attend to our own wellbeing as we care for our patients.”

“Our events … were meant to put pressure on Rutgers to support us as we, like so many workers, stretch ourselves beyond our limits within a U.S. health care system that puts profits before people,” the doctors wrote in a joint statement. “So it is all the more painful to have to cancel because of an extreme climate event caused by the same billionaires and power structures that prevent health care workers and patients around the world from living lives that are healthy, whole and free.”

A Rutgers University spokesperson offered Patch a statement about the ongoing contract negotiations last week, before the rally was canceled:

“We have been meeting in good faith with the Committee of Interns and Residents and will continue to do so. We are hopeful that this contract can be agreed to and settled quickly and fairly.”

The CIR has been in negotiations with the university since August 2022. Another bargaining session was scheduled for Tuesday, a union spokesperson said.

In the meanwhile, the doctors continue to push Rutgers administrators to made headway on negotiations.

“We are passionate about doing whatever it takes to deliver great care to our patients – that’s why we became doctors,” said Elena Wickstrom, one of the physicians involved in the campaign. “But no one should have to sacrifice this much – our well-being, delaying life goals – just to finish their medical training.”

“It’s crucial that Rutgers and the state do the right thing so that completing residency at Rutgers feels possible, financially and otherwise, and talented physicians continue to come to work in New Jersey,” Wickstrom added.

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