Alex Simone: For WBFO News, I'm Alex Simone, talking local anesthesiologist Dr. Armin Tadayyon about his work with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, and area hospitals to secure a new contract for fellows and resident doctors.
Dr. Armin Tadayyon: Thanks for having me, Alex. this contract benefits 831 residents and fellows here in the Buffalo community. that means whenever you step into the hospital and you're treated by a resident or fellow, you can bet that your resident or fellow is getting treated well. So, ensuring that treatment is going to come on to you.
AS: What was that tipping point, to go from this really months long impasse, now it's been ratified, it's been approved?
AT: Absolutely, I think the tipping point well, we started bargaining back in August 2023, so it's been well over a year. I think what was really tipping point was our strike. 831 residents went on strike the day after Labor Day and continued on strike for four days. I think that was a significant tipping point because we showed that we are not afraid. The culture of residency has been put your head down, do your work, you know, get treated unfairly. And the tipping point was UB finally acknowledging that residents and fellows are being treated unfairly, that they're not being compensated well.
AS: On the joint press release from UAPD and UMRS, it says that it's going to provide salaries on par with peer medical schools.
AT: So, that sixth- or seventh-year neurosurgical resident was making less than a first-year resident fresh out of medical school intern at Rochester. The pay has been a significant increase. We are now competitive with other programs in the region. So, the interns coming in at UB next year at around $64,000, and that's typical. By the end of this contract, a seventh-year resident, that's like the neurosurgical resident, going to be making around $91,000. Previously, that seventh-year resident was making around like $68,000. And this is why talent is going to come to Buffalo. They have the ability, the privilege, to be able to choose where they want to go and practice and get trained. And this is why Buffalo is going to be on the map. And this is why we can recruit top-level students to come here and train for their residency and really provide awesome care to the Buffalo community.
AS: OK, this contract, it's touted as being monumental and a first for the UB resident program. Do you think that could make prospects easier come, another three years when it's time for negotiations again?
AT: We went through the trenches for this first contract. Now, we are competitive in terms of pay. But not only that, we gain respect in the workplace, improved working conditions, and also, we have grievance procedures if anything goes wrong. One of the things that we commonly saw, and I think this is not just a UB problem, but also a nationwide residency program in terms of the culture, ‘if you don't do X, you will have to extend your training.’ And X could be something very insignificant. X could be missing a recorded lecture, one that you could watch later. If you miss that, you will have to extend training.’ Greater than 90% of residents are not going to have to use these protections against unfair and unjust extensions of trainings, but it's their Bill of Rights.
AS: You mentioned in the past about the difficulties that doctors can have being able to afford the level of care that they would administer to others. How important do things like the $40,000 emergency medical, expense fund and the cap on health care premiums, how important are those kinds of things?
AT: This is an amazing pass by UB, I'm so grateful that this has happened. Our insurance was recently or within the past two years changed to be only a high deductible insurance plan. And the amount they used to get paid would not be able to justify the high deductible that you had to pay on this plan. So, in addition to the high deductible, we had premiums every month removed from our paycheck to compensate for this plan. Well, we were able to achieve in this contract was one, being able to put a cap on these healthcare premiums. If inflation only goes up to 2% next year, our health care premiums can only go up by 2%. They can never go higher than the Consumer Price Index. And if that price that consumer price index skyrockets, it goes up 10%, we're capped at 7%, It's not going to go past 7%. So that was a huge win.
Also, the next thing that we were able to secure was a $40,000 emergency fund. So, let's say we have a fresh intern who just graduated medical school, is now a first-year resident. And they fall down on their bike and break their leg without having any money saved up. UB has now established $40,000 every single year that's coming out of their pocket and residents can apply to and receive the benefit in an emergency setting. And that must be a resident that is also experiencing financial hardship.
AS: OK, did your negotiations end up taking place with UB and not the possible entity that is UMRS?
AT: Our negotiations have always been with UB they've been through this shell company of UMRS, and UMRS is actually a middle man. And one thing that UB has shown with this contract is that they have met residents where we want to be in met, and they've shown that they're taking steps in the right direction. I'm very hopeful for the term of this contract, and the more that they're willing to be meeting with us collaboratively, I think it's a step in the right direction and building UB's reputation of being a top-tier program.
AS: The contract is already effective and remains in place through June 2027. Alex Simone, WBFO News.
