Labor in the news

Doctors approve contract: Attending physicians and dentists at New York City’s Metropolitan Hospital in October overwhelmingly ratified their first contract. The 170-member unit voted to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 10MD (Doctors Council) last year.

The one-year pact includes increased wages and a pay parity provision that protects doctors’ pay from lagging behind that of newly hired staff.

Big win in Kentucky: In the first-ever union victory for state workers in Kentucky, a strong majority of more than 1,700 health care workers voted to join Healthcare Workers United, an alliance of Association of Federal, State and County Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and SEIU.

The union gives workers a voice in contract talks with Gov. Paul Patton (D), who issued an executive order in May allowing 30,000 state workers to negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions.