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ChristianaCare doctors in Delaware look to unionize, citing need for better benefits

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ChristianaCare doctors in Delaware look to unionize, citing need for better benefits


NEWARK, Delaware (WPVI) — ChristianaCare physicians in Delaware have filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union.

Doctors say in recent years, issues such as burnout, being understaffed, recruitment, and retention have gone unaddressed by the administration.

Now, they felt they had no other choice.

“I think our hands were forced to do this. All of the physicians are reaching a breaking point,” said ChristianaCare Dr. Ragu Sanjeev, one of the leaders of the effort.

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Doctors also say “compensation redesign” by the hospital would take away doctors’ paid time off, which they say is essential to preventing burnout.

Under this plan, vacation and other time off would not be compensated.

“That’s what really frustrated us and that’s what broke the camel’s back so to speak,” said Dr. Gennadiy Ryklin with a ChristianaCare.

However, doctors say their goal is better patient care and outcomes, which they believe are being negatively affected by current conditions.

“It always starts in the emergency room and right now, the one thing that we see is patients can’t even get an emergency room bed. We’re practicing hallway medicine,” said Dr. Ryklin.

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Among roughly 400 eligible doctors in the system, leaders say there’s about 70% in support to unionize.

Doctors say they want patients’ needs prioritized, more input in decision-making, better benefits, and less corporate influence.

They say there’s been a shift to more doctors employed by hospitals as opposed to working in private practice or being self-employed.

“Corporatization of medicine has expanded its claws over us, how we practice medicine, how we take care of patients,” said Dr. Sanjeev.

“I personally have felt in my five years as an attending physician, and my colleagues that have been in it for decades, they’ve seen that their voice has been lost with the corporatization of medicine, of private equity firms coming in and buying hospitals,” echoed Dr. Ryklin.

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In response to doctors’ concerns and efforts to unionize, ChristianaCare issued the following statement to Action News:

“At ChristianaCare, we are proud of our physicians, who deliver world-class care while serving our patients and our community with love and excellence. We believe that continuing to have a direct relationship with physicians is an essential component of our continued shared success. We have received the petition from Doctors Council SEIU Local 10 MD and recognize the right of all employees to vote on whether or not they want a union to represent them.”

Doctors say they want to work with their employers to improve their workplace and care for patients.

“In no way is this adversarial. We want to work together with our employer to enact positive change,” said Dr. Ryklin.

If efforts to unionize are successful, physicians at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital in Newark, the Wilmington Hospital, and Middletown ER would all be covered.

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Unions among physicians aren’t very common, but given conditions at hospitals across the country post-pandemic, it has happened in other places and could be a growing trend, according to Dr. Sanjeev.

“The trend has started primarily due to us being asked to do more and more with less and less of everything, including time and energy. The situation that exists currently does not let us practice medicine the way we want to, which is the right way,” Dr. Sanjeev said.

The National Labor Relations Board confirms it has received the doctors’ petition. Doctors at ChristianaCare hope to have a vote in six to eight weeks.

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Delaware

Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware

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Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware


WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) — The family of Kadir Skinner is calling for criminal charges against the police officer who shot the 19-year-old after the release of officer body camera footage that attorneys say contradicts the police account of the incident.

The shooting happened June 24 after 11 p.m. at 24th and Jessup streets.

Calls grow for body cam video in deadly Wilmington police shooting

Body camera video shows an officer drawing and firing his weapon while yelling commands. In the footage, officers can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun,” as they approach Skinner, who is on the ground.

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Skinner repeatedly tells officers he is unarmed and says he cannot breathe.

“I don’t got nothing. I don’t got nothing,” Skinner says in the video.

Footage shows officers handcuffing Skinner and kneeling on him while he continues to say, “I don’t got nothing. I can’t breathe.”

Skinner was shot in the rear.

READ MORE | ‘We need answers’: Family disputes details after man killed in Wilmington police shooting

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A second body camera angle shows a crowd forming as officers instruct people to back up.

Video from a third responding officer appears to show an officer picking something up from the grass and returning toward the crowd and the officers with Skinner.

In the footage, an officer can be heard saying, “Secure the gun,” and the officer wearing the body cam says, “I have it.”

Attorneys for Skinner’s family, along with family members and community supporters, gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington following the release of the video to demand justice.

“Regardless if he had a gun or not, he was still shot in the back, running from police, not having been a threat,” attorney Harry Daniels said.

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SEE ALSO | Family releases witness video after 19-year-old fatally shot by police in Wilmington

Attorney Chance Lynch said the footage showed “an unjustified killing.”

“What we saw and what we witnessed was an unjustified killing,” Lynch said.

Attorneys for the family contend the video disputes the police version of events. Wilmington police previously said Skinner came out of a home armed and waved a gun at a crowd before officers opened fire.

“The video that I saw, I didn’t see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir coming out of a residence. I did not see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir pointing a firearm at a crowd,” Lynch said.

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Attorneys and the family maintain that Skinner was running from a loose dog.

The family also announced a $25 million claim against the city of Wilmington for wrongful death. They are seeking criminal charges against the officer who shot Skinner.

The Delaware Department of Justice is investigating.

Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Delaware

Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes

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Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes


Delmarva Power objects to applying legislation to interim rate

The debate among commissioners over the breadth of their oversight on utility rates comes as the company has pushed back on the group, limiting its interim rate increase to half of its total request, even while it faced criticism from commissioners that it is “cruel” and “tone deaf” for continuing to press for rate hikes.

Delmarva Power, an investor-owned utility, serves 344,000 residential and nonresidential customers in the state. Its parent company, Exelon Corporation, is the nation’s largest regulated electric and gas utility.

Its customers pay a supply and a delivery charge for gas and electricity. The supply of energy comes from PJM Interconnection, a regional grid serving Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several other states. Delmarva Power profits through the distribution fee.

Delmarva Power Region President Marcus Beal said they need to file rate hike requests to recoup money it spends on improving and maintaining the infrastructure.

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“Our equipment is extremely expensive, the items that we buy, the transformers, they’re very large, complex things to build,” Beal said. “Even something as simple as a treated pole of a certain size can be very pricey, so we spend a lot of money on the grid itself.”

Under Delaware law, interim rates can be approved seven months after a rate case is filed, while the full petition is being considered by the commission. Prior to the legislation, 100% of the rate request could be implemented. The bill caps interim rates at 50% and allows 75% of the ask to go into effect after 12 months. The bill also puts limits on Delmarva Power’s infrastructure spending.

Delmarva Power spokesperson Matt Ford said the commission overstepped its authority to cut the interim rate as much as they did and the company has argued in its PSC submissions that SB 326 did not apply to the rate increase request filed in December because it had yet to be signed into law. Meyer said he signed the bill Monday.

“Delmarva Power further reserves its objections to the applicability of the legislation, should it become effective, including its impermissible retroactive application,” the utility company said in comments filed Monday afternoon with the commission.

In addition, Delmarva Power has objected to halving $23.2 million in distribution system improvement charges as part of the interim rate commissioners approved. The fee allows utility companies to recover project costs and depreciation between full rate case proceedings.

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“My suggestion is, if you don’t like it, appeal it,” Iorii said.

It’s unclear whether the utility plans to appeal the order. Ford said they were reviewing it and its implications.

Tweedie said he hopes they decide not to appeal.

“If they appeal this, what they are essentially saying is, ‘We want to extract more money from our customers than the commission intended to allow,’” he said.



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Delaware

Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash

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Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash


Delaware State Police have identified the man who was struck and killed by a vehicle while lying on the roadway in Harrington, Delaware.

On Monday, July 13, 2026, Jimmy Burgess, 62, was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado driving westbound near the 1500 block of Whiteleysburg Road.

According to police, the Silverado, which was operated by a 17-year-old boy from Milton, Delaware, was unable to stop once he saw Burgess on the road, striking him. The driver of the Silverado was not injured during the crash.

Burgess was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, said police.

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The roadway was closed for approximately three hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.

The Delaware State Police Troop 3 Collison Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this crash.

Troopers ask anyone with information about the crash contact Sergeant M. Long at (302) 698-8518.

Information can also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police, or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-(800) 847-3333

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