SEIU 1199 New England is the health care workers union for Connecticut and Rhode Island. Are union is composed of almost 30,000 health care workers standing together for quality care and quality careers.

Forming a union starts when a group of co-workers come together to demand respect and a voice. They meet with a union organizer, who guides them through the process of winning a union election. After the election, the boss must negotiate with the union around wages and working conditions.

Negotiating a contract is a participatory, democratic process — all of us have a role to play.

After winning a union election, we elect a team of co-workers from across the facility to represent us in negotiations with management. The team puts together a bargaining proposal based on input from surveys and meetings with employees across the hospital or clinic.

The bargaining team — with support from legal and negotiating experts from the union — meets with management over a period of time to reach an agreement on the issues.

We, the union members, then have the final say. Once we reach a tentative agreement with management, we have a chance to review it and ask questions. Then we hold a vote — no contract can be accepted unless a majority of our co-workers vote to approve.

Having a union allows healthcare workers to create new avenues of communication between us, the employees, and management, like:

Union-management committees. Most contracts create committees that allow employees to sit down with management to solve problems as they come up. Many contracts set up special committees that focus on a particular issue — such as staffing —  that we want to have an ongoing voice about.

A fair system for resolving differences. Our contracts also create a “grievance procedure” where an employee who has a disagreement with a management decision can turn to an appeal process. 

SEIU (Service Employees International Union) is an organization of 2.1 million members united by the belief in improving the lives of workers and our families and creating a more just and humane society. Find more information on SEIU’s website.

Most employers are used to having the power to make decisions without employee input. It’s typical for employers to be hesitant about opening up decision-making to employee involvement.

But it’s important to remember that forming a union will improve patient care and employee-management relations in the long run. Every employee has the right to help form a union. Ultimately, the decision about forming a union is made by employees, not managers.