Union of American Physicians and Dentists

What Union of American Physicians and Dentists does

The Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) is a Sacramento-based labor union founded in 1972 that collectively bargains on behalf of more than 7,000 licensed physicians (MDs and DOs), dentists, and advanced practice clinicians (NPs, PAs, ARNPs) employed across public and private healthcare settings in the United States. UAPD maintains 43+ bargaining units spanning county and state-run facilities, federally qualified health centers, for-profit and nonprofit health systems, university medical centers, children's hospitals, and national telehealth networks. The organization is affiliated with AFSCME (1.3 million members) and AFL-CIO, which extend its lobbying and research infrastructure into Sacramento and Washington D.C. UAPD is governed by a member-elected executive board of working clinicians, with day-to-day operations led by President Dr. Stuart A. Bussey, MD, JD and Executive Director R. Douglas Chiappetta, MA, and supported by offices in Sacramento (headquarters), Los Angeles, and Federal Way, Washington.

UAPD's revenue model is membership-dues based and recurring: physicians and clinicians pay ongoing dues, typically deducted from payroll, in exchange for collective bargaining representation, grievance handling, legal advocacy, Weingarten-rights protection, and member benefits administered via the UAPD Benefits Fund (pension, health, dental, education leave, malpractice coverage). UAPD does not sell software, data, or technology products; its go-to-market is community-led organizing in which field organizers build worksite committees, file NLRB or PERC petitions, and win union elections before negotiating first contracts. The union also runs self-serve channels, including online DocuSign membership applications, an interactive labor-representative finder, and a dedicated organizing website (OrganizeWithUAPD.com). Customers in the literal sense are the employers it negotiates with (e.g., Banner Health, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of Washington, Seattle Children's, Family Health Centers of San Diego, Boulder Care, California Correctional Health Care Services); end members are the dues-paying clinicians themselves.

Underlying technology is non-existent in the traditional product sense. UAPD's operations run on standard web infrastructure (uapd.com, member portal, staff portal), social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn), and DocuSign for applications, with no disclosed proprietary platforms, APIs, AI capabilities, or technology partnerships. Strategic differentiation is therefore not technology-driven but is grounded in the legal and regulatory infrastructure of U.S. labor law, accumulated organizing know-how across five decades, and the institutional weight of AFSCME/AFL-CIO affiliation.

Name

Union of American Physicians and Dentists

Legal name

Union of American Physicians and Dentists

Website

https://uapd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Union of American Physicians and Dentists is a labor union representing 7,000+ physicians, dentists, and advanced practice clinicians across more than 43 bargaining units in U.S. public and private healthcare systems. Founded in 1972 and affiliated with AFSCME and AFL-CIO, it provides collective bargaining, legal advocacy, and member benefits funded by recurring membership dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Union Representation Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Labor, Worker Rights & Employment Policy Advocacy (BPAGAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

Keywords

• Physician labor union
• Collective bargaining representation
• Healthcare worker advocacy
• Medical professional organization
• Union representation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: UAPD generates revenue through membership dues from represented physicians, dentists, and advanced practice clinicians. As a union affiliated with AFSCME and AFL-CIO, members pay recurring dues in exchange for collective bargaining representation, advocacy, legal support, and member benefits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

UAPD is a labor union that represents licensed physicians, dentists, and advanced practice clinicians for collective bargaining, workplace advocacy, legal support, legislative advocacy, and member benefits. Members gain Just Cause protections, representation during investigatory interviews (Weingarten Rights), negotiated compensation and benefit packages, and access to the UAPD Benefits Fund. Membership spans both employer-based bargaining units and individual private-practice members across multiple U.S. states.

Product overview

The Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) is a labor union organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer commercial software products or technology platforms. UAPD's core offerings are union representation services for licensed physicians, dentists, and advanced practice clinicians, including collective bargaining, political advocacy, member-driven policy change, workplace dynamics improvement, and patient advocacy. The organization is affiliated with AFSCME and the AFL-CIO and has been operating since 1972.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collective Bargaining Representation (UAPD Membership) Core membership service through which UAPD organizes physicians, dentists, and advanced practice clinicians into bargaining units, negotiates collective bargaining agreements with their employers, and provides ongoing representation including Just Cause protections and Weingarten Rights during investigatory interviews.
• Private Practice Individual Membership Standalone UAPD membership for individual physicians in private practice who are not part of an employer-based bargaining unit. Members receive professional advocacy and union member benefits without worksite organizing.
• UAPD Benefits Fund Member benefits program providing access to negotiated benefit packages such as pension, health and dental insurance, educational leave, and malpractice coverage for UAPD-represented clinicians.
• Legal Advocacy Legal representation and advocacy services for UAPD members, including filing unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB and representing members in retaliation and discipline disputes with employers.
• Legislative Advocacy Lobbying and political advocacy conducted by UAPD and its AFSCME/AFL-CIO affiliates on healthcare policy and labor issues affecting physicians, dentists, and advanced practice clinicians at state and federal levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86% voter approval in Stanford pediatricians union election (109 physicians)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered significant and core.

• San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIOsignificantStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2026UAPD partnered with the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council (representing 200,000+ union workers) to hold a press conference calling for accountability and systemic change at Family Health Centers of San Diego following the termination of Dr. Raquel Cornejo Pina. This coalition building demonstrates UAPD's strategy of building alliances with broader labor movements.
• AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)coreOthers · 1 January 1972UAPD is affiliated with AFSCME, a union representing 1.3 million public service workers. This affiliation provides UAPD members with access to extensive lobbying power, research resources, and organizing infrastructure at the national level. AFSCME affiliation helps UAPD lobby more effectively for physicians in Sacramento and Washington D.C.
• AFL-CIOcoreOthers · 1 January 1972UAPD is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States. This affiliation provides additional political advocacy strength, research capabilities, and solidarity with the broader American labor movement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• AFL-CIO: The largest U.S. labor federation of which UAPD is an affiliate. AFL-CIO provides the overarching federation infrastructure for UAPD and is a structural peer as the umbrella organization governing affiliated unions.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): SEIU is one of the largest U.S. unions representing healthcare workers (including nurses and ancillary staff). It overlaps with UAPD in the healthcare labor space and shares AFL-CIO affiliation, but operates at much larger scale and broader occupational scope.
• AFSCME: UAPD's parent affiliate (1.3 million members) representing public-sector workers across many occupations. AFSCME is relevant both as an institutional parent and as a comparator for a healthcare-focused subset operating under the same federation structure.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT) - Healthcare Division: AFT represents nurses and healthcare professionals through its healthcare division. While it is a broader union spanning education and public services, it competes directly with UAPD for healthcare professional members and shares the AFL-CIO federation umbrella.

Direct peers

• National Nurses United (NNU): The largest U.S. union of registered nurses, NNU shares the professional healthcare union model with UAPD and frequently coordinates on patient-care advocacy and collective bargaining. While focused on RNs rather than physicians, the unionization mechanics and employer targets are highly comparable.
• Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU): The largest resident physician union in the U.S., directly comparable to UAPD as a labor union exclusively representing physicians. It shares the same collective bargaining, advocacy, and worksite organizing model for doctors, though focused on residents and fellows rather than attending physicians.
• Doctors Council SEIU: A national union of attending physicians, dentists, and other medical professionals affiliated with SEIU. Directly comparable to UAPD as a doctor-only labor union with worksite organizing, collective bargaining, and member advocacy models.

Regional players

• California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee: A California-based direct-care RN union with strong organizing in the same West Coast health systems UAPD operates in (e.g., Stanford, Sutter). CNA competes for the same hospital-employee membership pool and shares California's collective bargaining legal framework with UAPD.
• Union of Nurses in Vermont Professional Nurses Federation / Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals: A regional healthcare union affiliated with AFT, comparable in structure to UAPD's state-level bargaining units. Illustrates the regional/state-level model of healthcare professional collective bargaining that UAPD's state offices emulate.

Others

• American Medical Association (AMA): The largest professional association for U.S. physicians. While not a collective bargaining union, AMA competes for physician mindshare and dues through advocacy, and represents an alternative organizing model (professional association vs. labor union) that physicians may choose.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uapd
• Facebookfacebook.com/UnionOfAmericanPhysiciansAndDentists
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/union-of-american-physicians-and-dentists-uapd-
• Instagraminstagram.com/uapd.hq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Union of American Physicians and Dentists