Physicians in a clinic in Tucson recently won this certification from the National Labor Relations Board and Formed a physician union to negotiate a contract with their employers. This is currently under appeal by the clinic, but certainly is a beginning. Physicians employed by governmental agencies are already unionized. Physicians employed by the State of Florida and those employed by the public Health Trust at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami are Unionized. Many of these groups are true employees in all senses of the word except for their contracts.
Physician unions can also achieve successes through legislation.
As many abuses in managed care become more understood, unions and their members are becoming more dissatisfied with the limitations put on their health care. They are beginning to realize that the system we have now with managed care, benefits not the patient or the physician, but mostly the coffers of the insurance company. Unions and physicians are starting to have much more in common in our approach toward patient rights and curbing the excesses of managed care. We should be able to parlay this into legislative successes. This should not deter us from proceeding.