Our fellow Felton coworkers at two Early Education Programs at Bryant Street, in San Francisco, are union represented by SEIU 1021 and have recently made gains in contract negotiations with Felton Institute management. In November 2021, our co-workers fought for a 10% wage increase retroactive to July 2021 & WON!
That is a BIG win!
Imagine what we can gain if we are One Union across the agency!
Forming a union with SEIU 1021
1. What is a union?
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.
2. Can I be fired for forming a union with my coworkers?
It is illegal for your employer to fire or retaliate against you for union activity including: signing an authorization card, attending meetings, showing your support at work, or passing out flyers on a work break. Additionally, your employer should not ask you questions about your involvement or how you plan to vote.
3. How does a union protect workers?
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.
4. How much are dues?
Dues are 1.74% of your gross income and can only be raised by a membership vote. You will not pay a cent in dues until you and your coworkers negotiate a contract and approve it by a majority vote.
5. Will forming a union hurt the clients and programs?
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.
6. How can wage increases be negotiated if there is “no money” in the budget?
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.
7. Will I be forced to go on strike?
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.