MALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA — The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, today announced it entered into an affiliation agreement with the Chester County Medical Society (CCMS), bringing scores of Pennsylvania physicians into the labor movement. Under the new agreement, the members of CCMS will become members of OPEIU.
“The affiliation of CCMS with OPEIU serves to strengthen both organizations,” said Tyler Turner, OPEIU president. “Through the power of this affiliation, physicians across Chester County will be able to better advocate for themselves both individually and collectively.”
“The purpose of the affiliation with OPEIU is to take a major step that recognizes the changing industry landscape across medicine,” said David E. Bobman, MD, president of CCMS. “Over the past decade, the number of independent medical practices has declined while the number of employed physicians has grown steadily. We see this affiliation as a necessary development in our effort to maintain patient services and safety through the protection of our member physicians to employ the highest standard of care for the patients.”
Affiliation with OPEIU will provide CCMS members access to an array of union benefits, as well as bring OPEIU’s expertise in negotiating and administering contracts to Chester County physicians, who are increasingly less likely to own and operate their own medical practices. While CCMS will not bargain collectively, OPEIU’s expertise will help to educate both independent and employed CCMS members on the principles of collective bargaining, allowing the individual physicians to be better equipped to evaluate the terms and conditions of their contracts.
“This affiliation addresses CCMS’s duty to effectively represent both our independent and employed members by providing new and improved benefits as well as additional voices in our efforts to fight for, as well as oppose, legislative initiatives,” Bobman continued.
Members of the press are invited to attend an Aug. 12 event to commemorate the signing of the affiliation agreement. Interview opportunities are available.
WHO: The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, and the Chester County Medical Society (CCMS)
WHAT: An event to commemorate the signing of the historic affiliation agreement between the two organizations
WHEN: Aug. 12, 2025 6:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: The Desmond Hotel Malvern
One Liberty Boulevard
Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355
About OPEIU
The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, represents approximately 94,000 working people throughout the United States and Canada. Representing employees in nonprofit organizations, tech, hospitals, hotels, credit unions, insurance agencies, colleges and universities, administrative offices and more, OPEIU is committed to advancing economic justice for working people no matter their occupation. Professional organizations and guilds affiliated with OPEIU are a diverse group that includes podiatrists, teachers, registered nurses and helicopter pilots. OPEIU is an affiliate of the 15-million-member strong AFL-CIO.