Author: RFPU

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. ⁣

The University of Washington Housestaff Association was first formed in 1964 as a collective of residents and fellows with the intent to unionize. Multiple attempts to do were unsuccessful until 2014, when the UWHA was legally recognized as a union and our collective bargaining unit formed. Since then, we have successfully negotiated two contracts which have won our members extra yearly salary increases, extra vacation, various stipends, transportation benefits, and much more.

For three major reasons, the UWHA will be rebranding our name and logo this year.

1. the general public does not typically understand what the term “housestaff” means. 
2. we are no longer an informal association, but an incorporated union.
3. we want to keep open the possibility that we will one day expand beyond the University of Washington.

For these reasons, our Board has decided on a new name:
the Resident and Fellow Physician Union-Northwest, or RFPU-NW for short.

The new name emphasizes that we are a doctors union, whose members care for patients from the Puget Sound all the way to Boise.

As we continue to grow, we hope that this new name will speak to our place in the labor movement. We will continue the important work of advocating for the rights of residents and fellows, building solidarity with all healthcare workers, and serving our community. We will advance progressive legislation that will positively impact both our working conditions and the healthcare systems that our patients must navigate.

Please Note: Our website will be transitioning over in the near future. In the meantime you can still access our resources at http://www.uwha.com – once this is finalized it will automatically forward to the new address at http://www.rfpu.org

As of now, you can contact us at admin@RFPU.org

Any emails sent to admin@uwha.com will forward to our new email address.

We are excited to welcome you to Seattle! For those of you staying in Seattle, we’re happy to keep you here!

Starting residency during a pandemic has it’s challenges, but we’re here to help!

Couple of reminders:

1. Send in your membership card! Being a member is not automatic, you have to sign a card to receive membership benefits. We’re proud to have over 80% dues-paying members!
2. Make sure you understand all the benefits and what RFPU is about! If you haven’t joined an Intern Town Hall event already, you can RSVP for our live event (via Zoom) on Sun, 6/21 at 6:00pm where we will tell you everything you need to know. This will include a live Q&A segment. OPEN TO EVERYONE, you don’t have to have sent in a membership card yet.
3. If you can’t join in person, watch a recording here or reach out to admin@rfpu.org and we’ll get you up to speed!

On Friday, the Trump administration finalized changes to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Disguised in a late-Friday announcement as “respect[ing] the dignity of every human being”, these changes removed legal protections for LGBTQ individuals against discrimination in healthcare settings. By limiting the definition of “sex discrimination” to male or female biological sex, these changes legalize discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. Not only does this change allow health insurance companies to charge different rates, but it also allows healthcare providers to refuse care to LGBTQ patients.

At UWHA, we believe LGBTQ rights are human rights and everyone deserves access to healthcare. Legal definitions do not change our duty to our patients, and we pledge to continue caring for all our patients to the best of our ability, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

This announcement comes at the time of a painful anniversary, the Pulse nightclub shooting, during Pride month, and in the backdrop of the recent murders of two black transgender women. We understand that many of you may be hurting right now. No matter who you are, you belong in our medical community and have our support. 

We will continue to advocate for justice for marginalized communities and work towards diversity and inclusion. Please do not hesitate to reach out for support or to share with us how we can do better. 

In solidarity,

UWHA Board

Sent to full membership via email on June 7, 2020

Thank you to each and every one of you who has shown up this week (in-person and from home) for Black Lives Matter.

We saw incredible showings of people at Friday’s Show of Support, hosted by NURF, and over 10,000 healthcare workers and allies showed up for the Doctors for Justice Rally yesterday morning. 

If you haven’t already, please review the Doctors for Justice demands.

Many of us are showing up to protest after working long shifts, bringing our children out with us, making phone calls to elected officials, and having conversations about how we need to change the culture and institution of medicine. 

If you have ideas for actions residents can take on an individual or system-wide level, let us know. We will support you. 

NEXT STEPS

As a labor union, racial justice intersects with everything we do. The language we use in our contract, the benefits we fight for that ensure that residency at UW isn’t only accessible to those from the most privileged backgrounds, and how we fight against racism and discrimination in our workplace and community.

We also feel strongly that being a leader means speaking out against the way that our city and university continue to uphold systems of oppression. 

In the last week, as an organization we endorsed:

• Decriminalize UW
• Defund SPD
• Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act (HR 6906, S.3790)

We also encourage our members of color to sign the BIPOC Petition to remove the Seattle Police Officers Guild (police union) from MLK Labor

You can sign the above actions as an individual as well.
Decriminalize UW – individual
Defund SPD – individual
 A large portion of city (and university funding) goes towards policing our communities. Seattle budgeted $409 million on police this year, a quarter of the city’s general fund budget. As healthcare workers, we know that funding should be going towards health and education services in our community instead.

Units at our hospitals are being consolidated or closed entirely, and our state ranks one of the worst in the country for mental health care. Thousands of healthcare employees at UW and across this city have been furloughed during a pandemic. This is unacceptable. 

Remember, we all are UWHA – so if you see actions we can participate in, or demands you want us to advocate for – reach out and let us know how we can help amplify! You can do this by emailing us, posting in the UWHA slack, or tagging us on social media.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about where you’re living:

• Seattle’s Ugly Past: Segregation in Our Neighborhoods
• Segregated Seattle
• How did the Central District become Seattle’s historically black neighborhood?
• Rectifying Seattle’s racist roots and the battle to recognize MLK

Educational Resources:

• Anti-Racism Reading Program for Incoming Medical Students
• Anti-Racist Giving Workshop Presentation Slides
• Haymarket Books Against Policing & Mass Incarceration

Donate to local Black led, Seattle-based organizations

• Black Lives Matter – King County
• Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network
• WA-BLOC
• Northwest Community Bail Fund
• No New Youth Jail
  
  Let us know what we should add to this list!

Sent to full membership via email on May 30, 2020

Dear UWHA Members, 

We feel compelled to write to you today as we see what has happened in Minneapolis, Tallahassee, Louisville, and Georgia recently, and acknowledge that the history of this country and of medicine is rooted in racism. We each have a responsibility in combating structural racism.

While it may veil itself differently, our city, our workplace, and the labor movement have all perpetuated racism in different forms and we do not talk about it enough. As we mourn the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery, we must each evaluate our own privilege, and confront how this influences the way in which we live and work. It is imperative that we continue educating ourselves and confronting the parts of our system that need to be dismantled. 

We send our solidarity to protesters across the country.

As an organization, we also need to show up more, and ensure that every part of our work is done with a racial equity lens. We will continue to use our collective voice to speak out against violence against communities of color. Please do not hesitate to reach out and share with us how we can do better. 

In solidarity,

UWHA Board

What you can do today:

Show Up:

• The Defiant Walk of Resistance Against Injustice – Today, May 30 at 3pm at Westlake Center
• Keep Showing Up, not just tomorrow
• If you are a white ally, be willing to put your body on the line

Educational Resources:

• Anti-Racism Reading Program for Incoming Medical Students
• Anti-Racist Giving Workshop Presentation Slides
• Haymarket Books Against Policing & Mass Incarceration

One of the best ways you can help is to financially support Black-led organizing efforts:

Donate to Minnesota-based organizations rooted in anti-racism:

• Black Visions Collective
• Reclaim the Block
• Northstar Health Collective (medics)

Donate to Local Seattle-based organizations rooted in anti-racism:

• Northwest Community Bail Fund
• Social Justice Fund Northwest
• No New Youth Jail