Hospital-based acute care physicians represented by Doctors Council SEIU at Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare have voted to ratify a new three-year labor contract.
The agreement, which covers more than 500 physicians, marks the first union contract for healthcare workers in Delaware and comes two years after the physicians voted to join Doctors Council SEIU in June 2024, according to a June 25 union news release. The vote was 97% in favor of ratification.
“This contract is a major step forward in ensuring physicians have a meaningful voice at ChristianaCare,” Nisha Gandhi, MD, an advanced heart failure cardiologist at ChristianaCare and member of the Doctors Council SEIU bargaining team, said in the release. “Throughout this process, doctors came together to advocate for our patients, our colleagues and our profession.”
The agreement includes formal structures for physician input on issues affecting clinical practice and patient care, according to the union.
“This physician-centered agreement advances key shared priorities that support our physician workforce while protecting uninterrupted, high-quality care for the communities we serve,” ChristianaCare said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “It reflects a mutual commitment to collaboration, stability and long-term partnership, including a mutual no-strike/no-lockout provision.”
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