As Resident Union Rallies, Cambridge City Council Votes to Support CHA Contract

The Cambridge City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday evening urging Cambridge Health Alliance leadership to negotiate a new union contract with Cambridge Hospital residents and interns.

Before the Council voted, about 25 Cambridge Hospital residents and interns rallied outside of City Hall in support of the resolution. The group previously held a rally in August after their former contract expired on June 30.

The residents’ union — the Committee of Interns and Residents, a national affiliate of the Service Employees International Union — has already been engaged in contract negotiations for five months.

Union leaders hope that the resolution will put pressure on CHA Cambridge Hospital to guarantee mental health benefits, higher pay, and other protections to prevent burnout — and to reach a contract faster.

“I think knowing that the City Council has heard our concerns and is interested in getting them to come to the table for fair and transparent bargaining will hopefully get us closer to getting to an agreement faster,” Justin W. Halloran, the regional vice president of CIRSEIU, said in an interview with The Crimson after the rally.

Jesse M. Bossingham, a second year resident at CHA, spoke on the strenuous working conditions of the hospital during the rally during the meeting’s public comment period.

“Management gets to use us as cheap labor to keep the hospital running,” Bossingham said. He emphasized that constant exhaustion, limited time with loved ones, and high burnout rates were “not fair.”

Katharine Kosinski, the former chief of pathology at CHA, voiced her support for the policy order — with an amendment recognizing the “management’s obligation to safeguard the fiscal sustainability of the organization.” The Council later agreed to adopt a pair of amendments regarding the fiscal health of CHA.

“I have seen firsthand the respect Dr. Sayah and his team have for unions and their understanding for the essential role that staff, whether it be physicians or otherwise, play in carrying out the mission of the Cambridge Health Alliance,” Kosinski said, referring to Assaad Sayah, the CHA’s CEO.

But at the rally, Bessingham pointed to the fact that Sayah and CFO Jill Batty have still not agreed to a fair contract with the union.

The group has a meeting scheduled with the CHA to discuss the contract in the near future, according to Halloran.

In response to possible financial burdens the union’s demands may pose to CHA, Halloran said he felt their “current proposal is consistent with responsible financial stewardship of the hospital, and so I think we’re very friendly to the idea of an amendment communicating that obligation.”

“We feel like what we’re looking for is already consistent with that,” Halloran said.

During the rally, residents said they will continue to fight for a contract.

“We still have a lot of energy,” said Jamie C. Ye, a second year resident at CHA and one of the speakers at the rally.

“Continuing this rally says to just the entire residency and to the hospital administration that we stand together,” Ye said. “We will not stop until we have a fair contract.”

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.

—Staff writer Sheerea X. Yu can be reached at sheerea.yu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @_shuhree_.