Welcome to Be Informed Clinica, a website designed to provide easy-to-find, important information about unionization and the SEIU’s petition for an election at certain Clinica locations:
We hope to address many of your questions on this site and provide facts about unions and the organizing process. We hope that you will get information from both sides to make an informed decision.
Union organizers are permitted by law to make broad promises about what SEIU might be able to accomplish on your behalf. SEIU does not have to provide any disclaimers or a “money back” guarantee on any promises they make to you during the campaign, or when they ask for your signature on a union card or petition of support. However, managers are not permitted by law to make any promises about what we might or might not do if you vote YES or NO for SEIU.
While we are limited in what we are allowed to say, we can assure you, as a matter of fact and experience, that we believe transitioning from a non-union to union environment has a significant impact on any organization. Unionization may change the relationships employees have with their leaders and may also impact their working life in ways they may not anticipate. We hope this site is helpful to you as you consider both sides. The
site will be updated frequently with new information, so please check back regularly.
| Key Dates | What Happens |
|---|---|
|
June 26, 2025 Demand Letter Filed |
The Union demands voluntary recognition from Clinica at the Westminster site – both in person and via letter. By demanding recognition, the Union placed Clinica on notice it sought to skip the democratic election process and have Clinica start the bargaining process without all voices being heard. |
|
July 10, 2025 RM Petition Filed |
In response to the Union’s demand for recognition, federal law dictates that Clinica file a petition for election, since it choose not to agree to the Union’s demand. The Union would not agree with Clinica’s request for an expanded unit to include other sites. |
|
July 17, 2025 |
The Union and Clinica held a one day hearing at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Both sides presented witnesses and evidence regarding their requests related to the makeup of a potential bargaining unit. |
|
Date TBD |
The NLRB will issue a Decision and Direction of Election “DDE”. The DDE will notify the Union and Clinica of: (1) the bargaining unit (including positions and sites) that is the most appropriate under the law and (2) the dates, times and location of the election. |
|
Date TBD |
Once the Election Date is set: Federal law requires Clinica to provide the Union with a voter list. This list will contain employee contact information to allow the Union to contact you. |
In this instance, the union claims it already has majority support, which the clinic has disputed (as is its right to do so). Due to the demand letter the union sent CFHW, under federal law CFHW is required to file a petition for election in order for a secret ballot election to take place. CFHW did so on July 10. Otherwise, the union would be recognized automatically without a vote, which we do not think is fair as not everyone’s voice would be heard without a secret ballot election. Now, your recourse is to simply vote “no” if you do not want to support the union, even if you initially signed an authorization card or a petition in support of the union.
No. If the union is voted in, CFHW and the union would engage in the collective bargaining process to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment for all employees in the bargaining unit. There is no law that forces either party to agree with the views and demands of the other party. As a result, the collective bargaining process can take months or years.
Most terms and conditions of employment are subject to collective bargaining. This would likely include the following: wages, health benefits, retirement benefits, seniority, PTO, holidays, scheduling, shift differentials, overtime (including potentially mandatory overtime), incentive pay, shared governance, floating, layoffs, discipline, and the process for bringing a grievance, among others. There are topics under the law known as “mandatory” – where if any party raises them, the topic must be negotiated. These include a wide range of topics. There are other topics of bargaining, known as “permissive” that either party can raise to be bargained, but the other side does not have to agree to bargain. This includes topics like changes to recognition clauses.
While a union may try to negotiate certain staffing levels into the contract, CFHW does not have an obligation to agree to any such proposal (absent state law regarding staffing ratios). Even if this type of provision is negotiated into an agreement, many agreements with these types of provisions also have options for management to change those provisions if necessary for patient care and emergencies, meaning the ratios can be exceeded if necessary. If that were to happen, a union’s recourse for violation of such a provision is with the grievance and arbitration procedure, which can take months and may not provide relief in the moment.
No. The union cannot guarantee that any of its promises will come true. Indeed, if the union were to be voted in it would then engage in collective bargaining with CFHW to achieve a collective bargaining agreement. Under the law, during collective bargaining, neither party is required to agree to any proposal set forth by the other party so there are no guarantees.
SEIU Local 105 Dues Calculator
Per Local 105’s Dues Policy, union dues are two point two five percent (2.25%) of a member’s regular earnings. Since Local 105 dues are calculated as a percentage of regular gross wages, the dollar amount union members pay in dues will increase as their wages increase. The annual dues for a full-time employee working 2080 hours can be estimated by multiplying their hourly wage by 2080, and then calculating 2.25% of that total. It is important to note that specific details, including any potential maximum annual dues, are governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement for each specific employer and are subject to change.