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The city and the Doctors Council have negotiated a tentative agreement on behalf of 500 city physicians, including some working at NYC Health + Hospitals. The Doctors Council, however, expressed concerns that the pact does not do enough to address staffing problems. Above, members of the Doctors Council rallied outside of South Brooklyn Health for a fair contract in June.
The union representing hundreds of the city’s public hospital physicians has reached a tentative contract agreement with the Adams administration that would provide four retroactive raises of 3 percent each and a final salary bump of 3.25 percent for the final 18 months of the deal. The head of the union, though, is seeking further improvements to help retain and recruit staff.
The tentative pact, spanning the period from June 28, 2021 through Dec. 27, 2026, covers 500 doctors working at NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, physicians at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and medical examiners at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The contract, which follows the citywide pattern, also includes a $3,000 ratification bonus.
But the union had fought for a contract that would help address retention issues and understaffing, and Frances Quee, the Doctors Council president, expressed disappointment that the tentative pact did not sufficiently tackle these problems.
“While we acknowledge the progress made in our contract negotiations with OLR, we are dissatisfied that critical areas regarding recruitment and retention were not adequately addressed,” she said in a statement provided to The Chief. “Ensuring that our city employed physicians have the necessary support and incentives is vital for attracting and keeping top talent. We will continue to advocate for meaningful changes that strengthen our workforce and ultimately enhance the care we provide to our community.”
Mayor Eric Adams and Labor Commissioner Renee Campion, though, both praised the deal, calling it “fair.”
“Our doctors and medical examiners are the unsung heroes of our city, providing New Yorkers with the care they need and the answers they deserve in their most difficult times, and through this agreement, we are ensuring they receive the fair pay they deserve,” Adams said in a statement. “This agreement will also help our public hospitals and OCME recruit and retain talent, so that we can provide quality service to New Yorkers and protect public health. From doctors to teachers to probation officers, our administration will always invest in the working-class people of New York City, and we are proud to have achieved these crucial labor agreements in record-time.”
Campion added, “I am proud to have reached an agreement that provides fair and reasonable wage increases for the physicians that serve our most vulnerable city residents.”
The pact also would increase the city medical examiner teaching differential to $20,876 and improve salary schedules in order to address severe staffing shortages amid forensic pathologists. Last July, the Doctors Council wrote a letter to the mayor calling for pay increases for medical examiners, who they said were some of the lowest paid in the nation.
At the conclusion of their previous contract, in 2021, there were 32 medical examiners on staff, but as of this past summer, there were 20, according to the union. The shortages were especially critical because the medical examiner’s office has seen a growing number of cases due to suspected overdose deaths.
The Doctors Council has also held several rallies highlighting doctor shortages in the city’s public hospital. The Council added that it “remains committed to advocating for improvements that prioritize the well-being of physicians, as well as the quality of healthcare services available to the residents of the city.”
The union is negotiating multiple contracts on behalf of the city hospital system’s 2,800 doctors. In addition to NYC H+H, some of the doctors have other employers, including the Physician Affiliate Group of New York, NYU Langone and Mount Sinai.
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