The ChristianaCare Health Network in Delaware has officially become the second group of physicians and the first house staff in the state to successfully unionize.
With a vote of 111 to 52, the ChristianaCare residents have joined the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU), the largest and oldest house staff union in the country.
Dr. Layla Annous, a resident physician in medicine and pediatrics, expressed excitement about the unionization, emphasizing the support it will bring to residents across departments.
The unionization comes on the heels of a similar achievement by attending physicians at ChristianaCare last year, marking the health system’s first union and the largest private-sector physician union in the U.S.
C. D. Casscells, a director at the Caesar Rodney Institute, commended the physician residents for their successful vote, pointing to Delaware’s 28-year history of physician unions despite opposition from hospitals and insurers.
ChristianaCare has expressed respect for the residents’ decision and a commitment to working constructively through good faith bargaining.
The union includes all resident physicians and fellows at ChristianaCare, primarily working at Christiana Hospital in Newark and Wilmington Hospital, though they may rotate to other sites.
This movement is part of a broader trend of house staff unionizing to improve physician training, patient care, and health justice in the region.