A union is you and your coworkers coming together to make changes at work. Forming a union enables you and your coworkers to collectively bargain a contract to ensure fair wages, job security, and a fair disciplinary process and grievance procedure.

Without a union, you are an “at will” employee. Being at-will means that your employer can fire you at any time for any reason, or for no reason at all. Forming a union protects your job and ensures that management follows a progressive disciplinary process.

Signing a membership card shows management our strength in numbers, which will give us more power as we negotiate our first contract. We had nearly 80% of eligible workers sign union authorization cards – and we want to have the same number of folks sign membership cards!

The membership card is only available online! It can be found at https://memberlink.seiu1021.org/SEIU1021MemberApplicationStep1.aspx 

SEIU 1021 will see your membership card. PPNorCal management will also be aware of union membership because they will see who is receiving payroll deductions for union membership.

Union membership is protected under the National Labor Relations Act. It is illegal for management to retaliate against anyone for forming or joining a union.

We ONLY start paying dues after our first contract is fully ratified! We will not pay any dues before then. And we will only vote to confirm a contract that includes salary raises that are MORE than worth the cost of dues! As a reminder, dues are $1.74 for every $100 you make.

Dues are 1.74% of base pay. We won’t start paying dues until we have successfully bargained our first contract. The contract will be negotiated and voted on by the union membership: that means you! Dues are the resources union members pool together to ensure our union is well organized and can bargain for improved working conditions in future contracts and enforce existing contracts that improve working conditions.

Every employee in the bargaining unit will be protected under the contract. However, becoming a dues-paying member shows management that we have strength in numbers, which gives us more power at the bargaining table to fight for a fair contract.

Although management may tell you that SEIU will force you to go on strike, it is simply not true. 98% of all contracts are negotiated without a strike and the decision to strike can only be made by you and your coworkers through a majority vote.

Forming a union can actually improve program services by decreasing staff turnover and giving employees an opportunity to weigh in on important issues such as workload, health and safety issues, and the quality of client services.

We have envisioned, campaigned, and voted in overwhelming numbers to transform the power structure of our workplace by forming a union. We hope that the bargaining process will give shape to this change in a contract as soon as possible. That being said, we should be prepared for delays that could come from management opposing improvements for Planned Parenthood NorCal staff in our contract proposals. The quality of the contract we are able to negotiate, and the time it takes, will be determined by what kind of power we are able to organize in the negotiation process.

By nature, non-profit organizations operate on a budget margin of 1-2%. Forming a union ensures that budgeting wage increases for frontline staff is a top priority, instead of being left out of the budget completely.

Now that we have won our union, we can collectively bargain over our wages, benefits, and working conditions, including raises each year for the life of the contract (typically 3 years). Wages are often a top priority in bargaining, so it is likely that Planned Parenthood NorCal Workers United will aim to create equitable and fair wage increases annually. Whether this is a priority will depend on your feedback from the bargaining survey.

Through our union’s collective bargaining process we are choosing to work together to improve issues for everyone so that individual staff do not need to constantly advocate alone with little impact. That said, our union will not stop the Planned Parenthood NorCal from offering any pay raises intended for this year/before our first contract is ratified.

The CAT meets throughout negotiations to facilitate communication between the bargaining team and the entire union membership. The CAT is also responsible for planning and organizing events and actions throughout negotiations to build power and pressure senior leadership to bargain in good faith. Anyone can volunteer for the CAT. Please reach out to the Organizing Committee to see how you can get involved! Organizeppnorcal@gmail.com

Weingarten Rights 

Know Your Rights: The Right to Representation 

If you are ever called into an interview meeting with your supervisor or manager so they can investigate a situation that might result in discipline, you have specific representational rights.

These rights are summarized below: 

1. You have the right to have a Union steward present. 

2. If you want a steward there, you must ask for him or her. 

3. If you do not know why your manager wants to meet with you, ask him/her if it is a meeting that could result in discipline. 

4. If your manager refuses to allow you to bring a steward, repeat your request before a witness. Do not refuse to attend the meeting, but do not answer any questions either. Take notes. Once the meeting is over, call your steward. 

5. You have the right to speak privately with your steward before and during the meeting. 

6. Your steward has the right to participate actively in the meeting; she or he is not just a witness. 

These rights are called "Weingarten Rights" based on a 1975 Supreme Court decision (NLRB vs. J. Weingarten). As with all rights, we lose them if we do not use them. 

This statement could save your job: 

"If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated I respectfully request that my steward be present at the meeting. Without representation present, I choose not to respond to any questions or statements."