Healthcare for AFT Vermont and VFNHP Resident physicians and fellows employed by the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) are fighting through their union, the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU), for a fair contract that will allow them to improve their quality life so that their patients can receive the high-quality care they deserve. These doctors are the backbone of frontline care for Vermont, serving the most acute, complicated cases and those needing specialized care. Since most Vermonters engage with and rely on UVMMC at some point to meet their healthcare needs, chances are they have been cared for by a resident physician.
Contract negotiations with UVMMC hospital leadership began in Dec. 2025 as their current contract expired on Feb. 6, 2026. This is the second contract for the roughly 400 residents, interns, and fellows (collectively known as housestaff) since they successfully unionized in 2022.
Specifically, the physicians are seeking an increase in compensation that reflects their work and rising living costs, stronger childcare support, caps on shift length, and improved benefits, including meal allowances and education stipends. In addition, housestaff are proposing ‘common good’ provisions to support the community, such as protecting patients from immigration enforcement and a dedicated fund to improve quality patient care.
Regularly working 80 hours per week and often on 24-hr shifts, residents provide the majority of patient care at UVMMC and other satellite medical facilities across the state. These medical professionals often struggle amid constant chronic financial stress, rampant understaffing and challenging working conditions that leave them mentally and physically exhausted - limiting their full ability to be at their best for their patients.
Despite the grueling hours and dedicated passion they have for patient care, they do this work on very low pay that fails to meet their basic needs. Many UVMMC residents live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to afford utility bills, rent, groceries, and child care, as well as mounting student loans, exam fees and other residency-specific expenses. Rising housing costs due to housing shortages in the Burlington area mean many residents pay more than 50% of their paycheck on rent alone.
These doctors believe UVMMC has a critical opportunity to turn this dire situation around by offering fair wages and benefits that prioritize patient safety and support resident physician performance—positioning the hospital as a national leader in both physician training and high-quality patient care.
“Our first contract was a great starting point and platform for us to now continue to strengthen our overall working conditions,” said Dr. Rhys Niedecker, a family medicine resident and member of the bargaining committee. “Improved compensation and working conditions for housestaff means better care for our patients and making the communities we live and work in safer and healthier.”
Vermont’s healthcare system is at a critical juncture. Changes in state and federal healthcare funding, including Medicaid and higher insurance premiums, are leading to more hospital closures and an influx in patients to UVMMC. As UVMMC’s patient population grows, ages and develops more chronic conditions, resident physicians will play an even greater critical role in filling care gaps and meeting rising demand.
A majority of family-medicine residents (about 60%) plant roots in Vermont after residency. As the shortage of primary care doctors is expected to worsen, now is the time to invest in UVMMC residents and fellows as an investment in Vermont’s future healthcare
“Our residency program is one of the best recruitment tools that Vermont has for bringing new physicians into the state,” Dr. Niedecker said. “By offering a fair and strong contract that both respects residents and takes their needs into account, UVMMC can attract great physicians to protect the future of Vermont and ensure patients receive the absolute best care possible.”
Besides the resident physicians, UVMMC nurses and technical professionals, represented by the Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (VFNHP), Vermont AFT, will also be in negotiations this year. Both unions, in addition to their union siblings in the UVM Staff United and UVMMC Support Staff United AFT-affiliated unions (clerical, technical, specialized, and support staff), are standing up for each other and fighting for a better healthcare system for everyone.
“We fully support UVMMC housestaff and their fight for a fair contract,” said Nicole DiVita, president for Healthcare for AFT Vermont and VFNHP. “Whether it's nurses, technical professionals, support staff, or doctors - we all work side by side in the hospital everyday to deliver compassionate and quality care. An injury to one is an injury to all so it’s important for us to have each other’s backs as frontline healthcare colleagues and as advocates for staff and patient safety and ensuring UVMMC is accountable to the health needs of our communities.”
The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest house staff union in the United States, a local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representing over 40,000 resident physicians and fellows. Our members are dedicated to improving residency training and education, advancing patient care, and expanding healthcare access for our communities.
2.19.2026. Burlington, VT - AFT Vermont
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