For Immediate Release
Saturday, June 16, 2001
AFSCME Poll Shows Doctors Fed Up with Healthcare System, Want Collective Bargaining
Results Announced as AMA Delegates Gather in Chicago
Washington, DC —Whether Republicans, Democrats, or Independents, doctors overwhelmingly favor legislation allowing physicians to join unions or other collective bargaining organizations and are inclined to sign up, a nationwide survey released today by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Lake Snell Perry & Associates reveals.
Nearly nine out of ten of the 641 salaried and non-salaried doctors polled agreed that the health care system has gotten worse for them, and more than 70% blame HMOs for the current state of affairs. Over two out of three doctors are feeling powerless and victimized, yet a greater number say they are ready to fight to make things better.
The survey results were discussed by doctors and other experts at a press conference held at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago this morning. Participants focused on how doctors need unions to help them address their growing problems. Paul Booth, Assistant to the President of AFSCME, pointed to survey results, which show that doctors favor collective bargaining by almost 90%.
"Doctors' needs cannot be met unless organized medicine and organized labor join forces again," said Mr. Booth. "Only a labor union such as AFSCME has the depth of experience needed to solve the challenges doctors face under the current healthcare system."
Leaders of AFSCME's two doctors' affiliates, the Federation of Physicians and Dentists (FPD) and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), which represent roughly 15,000 doctors nationwide, echoed this argument.
Robert Weinmann, M.D., UAPD President: "Patients need doctors unions even more than doctors need doctors unions. The alternative is insurance companies that put profits and executive compensation ahead of patient care and the practice of medicine. Unions put people first."
Arthur Hall, M.D., FPD President: "The results of this survey show that physicians understand the need for physician unity, especially in regaining control of medical care and medical delivery for our patients."
Dan Lawlor, M.D., AFSCME's chief doctor organizer, also discussed the union's nationwide push to organize doctors.
Summary of AFSCME Doctors Survey (Text/HTML / PowerPoint)
