FAQs for Residents

AFT membership includes 200,000 healthcare employees.

AFT healthcare members include attending, fellow, and resident physicians. 

Additionally, they represent PAs, NPs, CRNAs, RNs, Nurse Midwives, Respiratory Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Occupational Therapists, among many more professions.

AFT represents 2,500 resident and fellow physicians in New York State at the Upstate Medical University, Downstate Health Sciences University, Buffalo Health Services, and Stony Brook Health Science Campus.

New York’s Stony Brook Hospital has a seven-step pay scale that ranges from $67,833 to $97,127, which includes a $2,500 resident stipend and a $3,026 location stipend.  

The New York State/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committee Certification and Licensure Exam Fee Reimbursement Program reimburses the cost of examinations for first-time certification and licensure. The NYS/UUP Program enables employees to improve job-related skills in their profession and gain the knowledge and skills necessary for promotional opportunities and career mobility within the State University of New York (SUNY). 

The Individual Development Awards Program is the most extensive NYS/UUP JLMC program. This award reimburses conferences and exam prep courses up to $2,000. Each campus is assigned proportional allocations based on the number of UUP-represented employees. Each Campus Professional Development Committee determines award decisions and deadline dates. 

Yes. The AFT brought the lead lawsuit that enabled the current processing of loan forgiveness. The suit is entitled Weingarten v. DeVos (Randi Weingarten is the national president of the AFT).

So far, just in 2023, AFT has organized close to 4,000 new members in the healthcare field. The most significant single NLRB election victory this year (so far) has been AFT Vermont’s win of ancillary staff (e.g., nurse aides) and technicians (e.g., EMTs) totaling 2,200 workers at the University of Vermont Medical Center.  

Other recent victories include the organization of:

• 910 diagnostic imaging technicians at Michigan Medicine
• 414 RNs, professionals, and technicians at The University of New Mexico’s Sandavol Regional Medical Center.
• 360 RNs at Legacy Mount Hood, Oregon.
• 180 home health and hospice professionals at Providence in Portland, Oregon.
• 62 Physicians, NPs, and nurse midwives at Providence Women’s Clinic in Portland, Oregon.
• 25 Physicians, NPs, and PAs at Providence Medford, Oregon.

Power confers the ability to win gains. For unions, power comes from an active and involved membership, outspoken policy advocacy, strong community involvement, and comprehensive political and legislative action. That means support from members throughout Michigan and the country, resources needed, and community and political relationships. When residents and fellows employed by DER advocate for enhancing patient care and gaining the rights and benefits you deserve, the entire AFT is with you.  

As Robin Tarter, executive director of the House Officers Association at Michigan Medicine, wrote, “AFT Michigan is a force…They were with us at the bargaining table (in 2020) and used their influence beyond the table, all to our benefit.”

It means that the represented residents and fellow physicians will have the expertise and resources of the AFT in your corner and the strength of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). In addition to the AFT, the AFL-CIO includes unions such as the UAW, AFSCME, Michigan Nurses Association, Steelworkers, the Building Trades unions, and many more.