Doctors at this Central Valley hospital voted to unionize. Here’s why
Doctors in training at the largest hospital in Tulare County have voted to form a union, saying they are underpaid and overworked at the under-resourced hospital.
A “super majority” of 150 residents at Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia voted in favor of representation, the Committee of Interns and Residents of the Service Employees International Union said in a news release.
“Today’s filing marks a major step forward as Kaweah residents fight for not just their own well-being in the midst of major cuts and grueling working conditions, but also for their underserved patients in the Central Valley,” the CIR/SEIU said in a Facebook announcement Thursday.
The union said in that doctors sought union protections because the hospital’s leadership overworks and underpays resident doctors, including progressively cutting their benefits, in order to “overcome massive gaps in staffing and resources.”
Residents said they regularly work up to 80 hours a week on pay that amounts to as little as minimum wage per hour. The doctors struggle to afford to live in Visalia, especially those who have children or are planning to start families, the union said.
“We came to Kaweah specifically because we wanted to work in a safety net hospital caring for our working class communities from all walks of life,” Dr. Brandon Hennessy, a surgery resident physician, said in a statement.
“Today we unionize, tomorrow we prepare to make our demands known at the bargaining table. Residents are Kaweah – we know this hospital – so with a voice and input into decisions about our working environment, we hope we can win support to better care for ourselves, our families, and our patients. We’re in this to win for Kaweah patients and our Visalia community,” Hennessy said.
A representative for the union said the petition was filed with the Kaweah Delta Health Care District per its local rules. The public body represented by five publicly-elected board members oversees the hospital and employs the residents. The District has 21 days from filing to review and respond to the proposed unit.
A spokesperson for Kaweah Health didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
If recognized, this would be the first union at Kaweah Health, the CIR/SIEU said.
According to its website, Kaweah Health offers six accredited graduate medical education residency programs in emergency medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, anesthesiology, general surgery and transitional year.
Fresno residents unionized in 2021
Other Central Valley resident physicians have unionized in recent years.
In 2021, residents employed by UCSF Fresno that provide care at Community Regional Medical Center and other facilities voted to unionize as they began to see their benefits being cut back in the midst of the pandemic.
Residents at the Modesto-based Valley Consortium for Medical Education are also represented by the CIR/SEIU.
The CIR/SEIU, which currently represents more than 40,000 resident physicians and fellows, said it has more than doubled in size since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several central San Joaquin Valley counties, including Tulare and Fresno, have persistent shortages of primary care doctors, according to an analysis of state data by KFF Health News.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Doctors at this Central Valley hospital voted to unionize. Here’s why."
