
Join CIR and RFPU – NW for, “Make Your Own Rank List: How to Consider Salary, Benefits, and Union Representation in Deciding Where to Train”
Registration: https://bit.ly/rfpucirwebinar
Join CIR and RFPU – NW for, “Make Your Own Rank List: How to Consider Salary, Benefits, and Union Representation in Deciding Where to Train”
Registration: https://bit.ly/rfpucirwebinar
Last week, you may have come across the highly visible news that Dr. Ben Danielson, Medical Director of Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, resigned from his position in November. Dr. Danielson drew attention to how people of color — whether patients or providers — have been systemically discriminated against at Seattle Children’s Hospital. You can read more about Dr. Danielson’s resignation here.
Since the news broke, families, parents, healthcare workers, and community members have come together to demand better of SCH and to demand that its administrators and management take concrete steps to actually address systemic racism. The Board of RFPU-NW has signed onto this petition, and encourage you all to do so in your individual capacity (linked below).
Are you preparing your rank list for next year (or thinking ahead to the year after) and need some help with the less glamourous logistics behind the pay and benefits you’ll receive during residency? Our residents and fellows are experts and ready to help!
Join members of our RFPU – NW executive board and staff for our second annual, “Make Your Rank List: How to Consider Salary, Benefits, and Union Representation in Deciding Where to Train” webinar and Q&A on Monday, December 7th at 7:00pm!
Open to Med Students everywhere!
RSVP Here: //bit.ly/rfpumedstudents
Hiring: Administrative Assistant
The Resident & Fellow Physician Union – Northwest (RFPU-NW) is an independent labor union formed by the medical resident and fellow doctors at the University of Washington affiliated hospitals (members have graduated medical school but are completing specialty training in a residency or fellowship). RFPU-NW advocates for the residents and fellows with respect to compensation, workplace environment, and benefits. RFPU-NW also is expanding its work in inter-union coalition building for solidarity not only with other unionized workers at the University of Washington, but with other unions in Washington state that share common goals. RFPU-NW has existed as an organization since the 1960s; however, has only been legally recognized as a union since 2014. We represent approximately 1,400+ doctors in training, a large percentage of all physicians in King County, serving UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Children’s, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and numerous affiliated clinics.
RFPU-NW is seeking an administrative assistant to join our organization in a part-time role, intended to average 20 hours per week, with flexible hours. There is potential in the future for this to be expanded to a full time role.
Position Description:
The administrative assistant will primarily function to support our executive board (RFPU-NW residents) as well as the Executive Director and Associate Director, two full time labor organizers employed by RFPU-NW.
The administrative assistant will be trained by the Executive and Associate Directors in their duties. Ideally, the candidate will have interest and/or experience in the labor movement, and/or healthcare. If the candidate has interest, there will be opportunities to expand job duties into a variety of other work, including political advocacy, member engagement, media relations, inter-union cooperation, among other work.
It is vital that the administrative assistant believes in and supports the mission of the labor movement, as much of our work specifically requires challenging the status quo, not only within the UW organization but in local, state, and national sociopolitical contexts.
Position Responsibilities:
Reporting:
This position reports to the Executive Director, Associate Director, and Executive Board.
Required knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Preferred, but not necessary:
There is no degree requirement so long as the candidate has sufficient professional experience.
The candidate will preferably be able and willing to transition to full time employment potentially within the first year after hire.
To apply: Submit a cover letter and resume via e-mail (PDF preferred) to admin@rfpu.org with a subject line, “Administrative Assistant – Application”. Please include two professional references along with their contact information including phone number and e-mail address. The application deadline is December 31, 2020. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.
To all our members,
This week, we finalized negotiations for the COVID19 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This MOU is essentially a shorter, time limited version of a contract between the employer and our union.
We began negotiating this MOU in March, in an attempt to secure protections both for the health and safety of our members and patients, but also in protection of your legal benefits and rights. We were able to secure some of these rights early in the process, which have now become the norm – but as with any benefit we secure, it must be memorialized to ensure it is maintained. Paid administrative leave for those who tested positive for COVID19 and free parking were benefits and rights secured for you and other union members by partnering with the coalition of unions at UW. These were not given freely by the University of Washington: they were hard-fought, direct results of union coalition action.
It took seven months for us to get Labor Relations to agree to this language. It’s disappointing that UW continues to fight us on basic protections for residents and fellows, especially during a pandemic – but this agreement is crucial to:
1. Keep our members safe
2. Keep us in line with protections other institutions have already afforded their employees.
Below you will find the highlights, as well as the MOU language linked.
Important reminders:
If you have questions/comments/concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
In solidarity,
Your co-residents and fellows at RFPU – NW
Eligibility and disbursement criteria that are used for this fund are on our website.
Timeline
Application Deadline: 11:59pm on Monday, September 28th
Notice from RFPU: By Thursday, October 1st
Appeals Deadline: 11:59pm on Thursday, October 8th
Disbursement from UW HR: Late October or Early November
You will hear from us regarding your eligibility for the fund, including your weighted score by October 1st, you will then have until October 8th to appeal these decisions if needed.
As a reminder, we are able to disperse $50,000 per year. We will continue to fight for more funding as we know the cost of childcare in Seattle creates a huge burden for resident families.
If you have questions, please email admin@rfpu.org
This year, RFPU-NW will be making our first-ever endorsements of candidates seeking public office in Washington state.We were impressed by the following candidates’ commitments to the labor movement and to the rights of healthcare workers; they have our sole endorsement. We have the utmost confidence that these candidates will be allies and partners with our union, healthcare workers, and the labor movement at large in Olympia.
Read below to learn more about who we endorsed and why we encourage you to vote for these candidates in November.
We endorse Rep. Jesse Johnson for State House, 30th LD. Rep. Johnson understands the importance of a robust labor movement. Most importantly, he’s demonstrated that he’ll continue to address the issues that face healthcare workers like finding affordable housing & childcare.
We endorse Liz Berry for State House, 36th LD. Berry had been on the picket line supporting our fellow healthcare workers and we were impressed by how her policy platform prioritizes childcare solutions & gender equity. She will be a strong ally to organized Labor in the House.
We endorse Kirsten Harris-Talley for State House, 37th LD. Harris-Talley is committed to raising progressive revenue, to furthering racial justice, and to advancing stronger economic protections for healthcare workers and their families. We cannot wait to see her in office.
We endorse Sherae Lascelles for State House, 43rd LD. Many of our patients face profound barriers to care, and Lascelles works tirelessly to undo these inaccessibilities. Their lived experience and perspective is needed in the state legislature to fight for broad, systemic change.
We endorse Ingrid Anderson for State Senate, 5th LD. Herself a nurse, Ingrid Anderson has been a part of the labor movement for years. We know that she’ll continue to fight for her fellow healthcare workers, particularly as the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 crisis.
We endorse T’wina Nobles for State Senate, 28th LD. In her public service and work, Nobles has focused on education and economic empowerment for disenfranchised communities. We know she will be a strong advocate for working families all across Washington once elected.
We endorse Marko Liias for Lieutenant Governor. Sen. Liias has spent his time in office fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and expanding mass transit. He has clearly articulated who his key allies in the legislature would be as he continues to advocate for healthcare workers.
We endorse King County Prop. 1. Harborview serves not only as our region’s most critical public hospital, but also as the training facility for the future physicians of Washington. The future of healthcare in Washington depends on fully funding this critical community institution. We are all stronger when Harborview is, and we fully support the efforts of Prop 1 to make all voters aware of the great need for major investment in Harborview.