The Union will help us to publicize our issues. We have the right to stipulate that our dues not be used to support political candidates. In voting to support the union, we did so knowing that there is no perfect solution to our problem of representation. Our choice was based on reasoned compromise. Doctors need to remember that their education does not make them better than anyone else.
Unions serve a valuable purpose for both professionals and non-professionals.
The Union is already surveying members regarding their concerns and preferences on issues. They have an infrastructure to manage the survey data and convert it into items for contract negotiation. The process is very democratic. We hope to have a contract sometime in the year 2000. The process is slow, but now that we have voted, no changes can be made in our current work conditions until we have a contract.