After a 20-month struggle negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with their employer, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (PPWP), the members of UE Local 696 ratified their first UE contract on Monday, December 12. The workers, who provide a variety of essential reproductive, gender-affirming, and sexual healthcare services across locations in Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Moon, Somerset, Johnstown, and Greensburg, voted overwhelmingly to unionize in March of 2021.
The first contract came after the local conducted an aggressive contract campaign which included both ongoing shop-floor activities by the rank and file and strong participation from other UE locals and allies.
Contract Campaign
Local 696 regularly held union meetings to keep members informed on the progress of bargaining and strategize ways to achieve a good first agreement.
During “all-staff” meetings run by management and conducted on Zoom, the local performed “virtual” actions to turn the heat up on the employer. Members displayed union slogans demanding a fair contract, a non-discrimination clause, and real wage increases on their Zoom background for everyone to see. Management had their open chat boxes flooded with similar messages. Local members also engaged in a worker “black-out” by collectively turning their video cameras off at once during a meeting with the employer.
On several occasions members joined the bargaining committee during virtual negotiation sessions, where they spoke directly to the employer demanding a fair contract. The local coordinated days that union stickers were worn at work with slogans like “Pro-Choice, Pro-Union.” The local also submitted petitions calling for fair contract immediately, signed by its members, to the employer.
“The perseverance of our members was key to getting a contract,” said bargaining committee member Jocelyn Kirkwood. “Time and time again throughout our campaign our actions helped us secure language we needed to build that contract. Where we found ourselves at a crossroads in bargaining, or when bargaining had stalled, the mobilization of our members put the heat on the affiliate to move forward towards an agreement” added Kirkwood.
On July 26, 2022, after more than 14 months of negotiations with PPWP, UE Local 696 held a rally at Pittsburgh’s City-County Building for fair first contract. The local established an outreach committee that worked tirelessly to inform the public of the event and generate turnout.
August Villanueva speaks at rally.
The rally took place amid an increase of out-of-state patients after the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade was announced on June 24. That increase led to a doubling of workloads. Addressing the more than 150 people who showed up to support the union, Local 696 member August Villanueva described how on the day of the decision, they were flooded with desperate calls from states where abortion bans went into effect immediately following the decision — yet were woefully understaffed, with initially just a single worker answering the phones.
Villanueva pointed out that “The staffing crisis we face ... was not unavoidable. With better wages and working conditions we would have been able to recruit and retain staff that we needed to safely and effectively do our job.”
Local 696 member Alyssa Haradzin told the rally attendees, “It is time for Planned Parenthood to live by their own ethos, to tend to the team. The clinic staff is that team. We are the ones face to face with the trauma, the sadness and the fear. If Planned Parenthood values its own ethos and the team that upholds those, they need to give us — the staff — the wages and the fair contract that we deserve.”
“We have more than enough to be able to make sure that we come to work with the correct staffing,” said Local 696 member Erin Taylor. “PPWP cannot afford to not negotiate a fair union contract, so we can do our jobs. Enough is enough!”
Abby, a former Planned Parenthood patient who preferred to be introduced only by her first name, shared her support for the workers, declaring that “these workers were the only people who treated me like an adult human being” when she was getting her abortion.
The rally was also addressed by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, Allegheny County Councilwoman Anita Prizio, UE Director of Organization Mark Meinster, UE Eastern Region President George Waksmunski, and Megan Moffitt of UE Local 667, which represents workers at the East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Labor Chorus and May Day Marching Band provided music. Members of UE Locals 610, 613, 667 and 690, along with dozens of other Pittsburgh-area unions and community organizations, came out to support Local 696.
On October 27, 2022, the local held another open bargaining session with members voicing their displeasure directly to the employer.
“We had reached the point where we had warned the employer that our patience had been exhausted,” said bargaining committee member Crystal Grabowski. “We had pulled off a ton of successful member-led actions to date, and the employer knew the rank and file was very motivated. We were fighting for the rights of our patients to have access to the services we provide. Getting a contract that allowed the affiliate to recruit and retain staff was what this was all about. The message was clear to the employer: fair contract by any means necessary.
“In the end, we know the employer took us seriously and had no choice but to do the right thing and compromise with us. That pressure and solidarity was what won the day for us as workers.”
Contract Wins
The three-year agreement will raise base wages by an average of over $2 per hour in the first year, and guarantees a path to a $20/hour minimum base wage with at least three years of service. Workers will see wage increases of at least 6 percent in the first year, 3.5 percent in the second year, and 3.75 percent in the third year.
“The frontline workers that make up UE Local 696 are committed to the cause of delivering the highest quality care to our communities,” said Kirkwood. “The effort to organize and achieve a first contract was out of a collective recognition by us staff that the best way to achieve that goal was by improving the working conditions under which the services that we directly provide occur.”
Strong gender inclusivity and non-discrimination clauses, just cause protections, seniority and recall rights, and health and safety language were secured with the agreement. The contract has several provisions to help enable the local to continue building a strong union, including union security and dues check-off, paid union orientation for new hires, and paid time for elected union representatives to conduct union business.
Importantly, the agreement also includes a binding grievance and arbitration procedure with a commitment that the parties request that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) provide arbitrator panels that are gender-diverse and, wherever possible, include members of BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) communities.
“Our contract delivers on our goal as workers to ensure the rights of all staff to a voice on the job, representation and due process, and an inclusive workplace truly free from discrimination,” said Kirkwood. "We demand a workplace where all staff feel safe and comfortable, appreciated and respected.”
Other improvements include two new holidays (Juneteenth and Christmas Eve), an additional bereavement day, and up to two additional personal days depending on seniority. On-call pay will more than double for licensed staff taking patient calls after hours, and the contract contains a set of new guaranteed wage differentials in addition to base wages — including language and training differentials — for performing additional duties.
Increased training and educational assistance will now available to union employees, and licenses that are required for staff will now be paid by the employer.
PPWP workers will have expanded rights to use extended illness time and a new right to donate sick time to co-workers, making up to 80 additional sick days potentially available each year for employees in need.
Other benefits already offered to union employees prior to the contract, such as paid parental leave, current health insurance rates, and travel expenses, are now all codified and guaranteed not to change during the life of agreement.
“Too often, our departments have been overloaded and understaffed, reducing our capacity as healthcare workers and educators,” said Grabowski. "The gains attained with this contract will help us recruit and retain good staff within the organization so we can fulfill the vital mission of PPWP.”
Next Steps
With a first contract secured, the local now turns to the important work of ongoing union building.
“With the contract in effect, we are now focusing our attention on developing and supporting our local union representatives, enforcing our contract, launching a new hire orientation program, and encouraging member participation in all aspects of the organization,” noted Kirkwood.
“We still have a lot of work to do, including continuing the fight for better healthcare for our members, staffing our patients deserve, and building on our coalition of allies to collectively protect ourselves against those that oppose the rights of all people to reproductive, gender affirming and sexual healthcare services.”
The membership of UE Local 696 includes Health Care Assistants, Call Center Agents, Front Office Specialists, Registered Nurses, Physician Assistants, Clinicians, Marketing & Communications Coordinators, Clinic & Clerical Coordinators, Behavioral Health Specialists, Development & Events Coordinators, Volunteer Coordinators, Communications Specialists, and Patient Navigators.
The Local 696 negotiating committee consisted of Jocelyn Kirkwood and Crystal Grabowski. Former Members Dana Soloff, Molly Johnston, and Hannah O’Neill also served on the committee at various points during negotiations. The local was assisted by Field Organizer Ben Wilson. International Representative John Thompson, Research Director Karl Zimmerman, and Communications Director Jonathan Kissam also provided support during the contract campaign. International Representative Karen Hardin aided the workers during their organizing campaign.