Becker's Healthcare January 21, 2026
Efforts to unionize among physicians have been on the rise over the last several years as they face increased pressures from burnout, corporatization and rising inflation.
Here are five things to know about the state of physician unionization in 2026:
1. Becker’s reported on at least 38 healthcare strikes in 2025, as well as eight other union-related updates that specifically included physicians.
2. According to a study published in 2024 by JAMA, fewer than 10% of physicians in the U.S. are unionized, but the number of union drives from 2023 to 2024 alone represented 3,523 new physicians, almost the same number represented by unions over the last 22 years.
3. According to a Medscape survey released in August 2025,...
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