Please check this page frequently. In addition to answering the questions below, we will also post questions you submit anonymously.
1. If, as you suggest in the FAQs above, the union cannot guarantee any of their promises, is Clinica able to guarantee us adequate responses to your employees’ requests? Adequate staffing, adequate benefits, inclusion in org-wide decisions that affect our ability to care for our patients?
2. If Clinica’s leadership cannot meet what your employees think are necessary to provide good care to your customers, there seems to be reason to try to get representation and unionize.
3. How much money has Clinica used to oppose the union effort? Is there a cap on how much the org plans to spend?
1. CFHW, unlike the Union, cannot make guarantees or assurances prior to an NLRB election pursuant to federal law. See N. L. R. B. v. Exch. Parts Co., 375 U.S. 405, 410 (1964). If you look at this page there are several NLRB decisions that discuss this difference between Union and Company rights in an election environment – where the Union has a lot of leeway to make promises CFHW does not.
And, CFHW does not believe a union is the best way to streghten employee voice. In fact, having a union could make it harder for individual ideas to be heard-especially if an individual’s perspective is different from that of the bargaining committee.
We also acknowledge and apologize that our communications and operations have not been as smooth as we’d hoped during the merger, but we are working to improve communications organization wide and at the local site level.
2. We want, and have always encouraged, feedback from our staff. Unions are not charitable organizations, social justice organizations, or 501(c)(3)s. They are third party businesses that employees pay for the service of representation (through your union dues). Unions have thier own goals which may not match with CFHW’s mission or values. When you vote for a union, you are voting for a process called “collective bargaining,” which is about pay, hours, and working conditions, not about how we care for patients or clients.
3. CFHW regularly retains legal counsel to assist with our daily operations, such as patient care rules, laws, or other legal issues we face everyday. We have an obligation to minimize risk to the organization. In this case, we have engaged legal counsel to avoid unfair labor practice charges at the NLRB, ensure we are compliant with the law, and to accelerate larger operational and merger related efforts to improve the employee experience. These are normal and routine expenses when running a business.
If you’re so against unions, is it because you’re afraid we’ll finally hold you accountable? How does it feel knowing staff who actually keep this place running don’t trust you enough that they feel forced to unionize? How does it feel that your employees believe a union will treat them better than you do?
It does not feel great to know some of our employees felt the need to seek out third party representation – we own our mistakes and are making steps to address these issues as the merger continues. However, not all of our employees are supportive of a union, and we believe in the freedom of election and a secret ballot election so employees can make a free and informed choice regarding union representation in the workplace.
Why did you spend so much time on this website when there was a literal active shooting threat?
We began work to create an informational website for employees in August. Although the incident you mention was scary and concerning, it is an unfortunate part of our reality working in any healthcare setting. Following the client incident, we held an after action meeting to learn how to improve procedures in the future. The informational website was not related to the client incident and did not take any time or resources away from responding to that incident.
Following this incident, we announced improved communication procedures after direct feedback and communication with impacted staff and leadership.
These updates were detailed in an email communication dated September 26, 2025, and are also partially reproduced here: . Moving forward, during any event, we will increase both the frequency and scope of communication to ensure all staff are kept informed in real-time.
Emergency Response Categories (Quick Guide):
Emergency Response Plans are also available for review on Sharepoint. Your supervisor can direct you to those documents as well if you cannot accces them.
In the spirit of transparency and respect for everyone’s voice, we’re sharing the questions and comments we’ve received. We’re doing our best to respond based on how we understand each question, and we want to be clear that there’s absolutely no intention to misrepresent or change what’s been submitted. Our goal is to foster open, honest communication—and that starts with listening and responding thoughtfully. We are interpreting the question to be: Simon states that CFHW values input from its employees, if this is true, why does CFHW not want its employees who are doing the boots on the groundwork to have active input in the future of CFHW?
Here is the full version of the question as entered:
This is a distortion and misrepresentation of the question I posed in the townhall. (incorrect question posted below in quotes). I asked if Clinica values its employees’ input, why would they not want input from the workers doing the boots on the groundwork for the future of CFHW? My question never mentioned a democratic process. This is a disgusting misrepresentation and is also grammatically incorrect. I will make sure other employees know you are distorting information for your own motives, which you claim is what SEIU is doing. Sounds like classic projection to me.
“How can you say that collective bargaining is not a democratic process when a union is made up of the individuals doing the work, who are doing the boots on the groundwork?”
So, my question still stands and is unanswered. Simon states that CFHW values input from its employees, if this is true, why does CFHW not want its employees who are doing the boots on the groundwork to have active input in the future of CFHW?
Also, I was in the chat for townhall, and this isn’t even a fourth of the questions asked. So, where are all the other questions? or did you only choose to distort the ones that promote your very legally expensive agenda.
I am also keeping a record of my statement here in case you choose to distort it for a second time.
CHFW values and listens to our employees. Bargaining committees are not just made up of “boots on the ground” employees. They also have union employees on the bargaining committee who may have little to no experience in healthcare or FQHCs specifically. Collective bargaining, like any negotiation, involves give and take on both sides. The law does not guarantee any specific outcomes from bargaining. Coach and Equipment Sales Corp., 228 NLRB 440, 441 (1977). Things like pay of benefits could go up, down, or stay the same. Please know that we want all of our employees to have a voice, not just the ones at the bargaining table. You can learn more about collective bargaining here.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
As with all submissions, we’re doing our best to interpret and respond based on how we understand the question. If our interpretation misses the mark, please know it’s not intentional—we truly want to honor the spirit of every comment and keep the conversation open and respectful. We are interpreting the questions/comments to be:
1. I think we really need a union worker to be talking to the whole organization so people can see both sides.
2. Also, the dues calculator is not right at all, we make the decision to see how much dues we need to pay not the union. Thats why we bargain the contract and as a union of workers we choose what would make more sense
Here is the full version of the comments as entered:
Thier is so much misinformation in this website! At no time the union has told us not to talk about the union at work. We all know its a right we have and that can’t be taken against us. If we are treated differently than people that are not for the union that is illegal. Point blank period. I think we really need a union worker to be talking to the whole organization so people can see both sides. Because of right now all we hear for clinica is negative things about unions! Also, the dues calculator is not right at all, we make the decision to see how much dues we need to pay not the union. Thats why we bargain the contract and as a union of workers we choose what would make more sense! I suggest anyone reading this and they are still in the middle to do their own research and look into talking with SEIU workers themselves. If you don’t know how to contact them look for peers with SEIU gear or look them up online !
1. We encourage each of you to get information from all sides and resources to make an informed choice regarding this very important decision. Federal law forbids CFHW from sponsoring a specific union or unions and this is why CFHW cannot “host” any particular union. CFHW cannot promote voting for a union – under the law, employers cannot coerce employees to pick a particular union, or any union, for representation. This is because employees have rights under the NLRA to participate, or to refrain, from union activity.
2. The dues calculator is based on SEIU’s filing of disclosures with the federal goverment (known as an LM-2) and their own by-laws and consitution, which are also here. Union dues are set and controlled by the Union. Dues rates are not negotiated as part of collective bargaining and are subject to the Union’s rules.
Us unionized workers at Valmont have paid $0 in dues, have won back prior, better benefits, and already won tens of thousands of dollars.
The unionized workers at Valmont have not yet paid dues because there is no collective bargaining agreement in place. Once the agreement is in place, represented workers, whether they voted for the union or not, will pay 2.25% of their wages in dues. We have been negotiating the contract, in good faith, since January 2025.
Earlier this year, the union filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against CFHW for changes made to some benefits. Had CFHW had better legal advice, we would have avoided the ULP. But CFHW bargained with the union to settle this ULP. This did include a one-time settlement payment of around $30,000 that was split between all members. This is why legal advice is important. We have engaged legal counsel to avoid additional ULPs to ensure we are compliant with the law.
If a union is put into place after voting, who would be responsible for approving PTO? Will it still be direct supervisors or would the Union be responsible for approving PTO?
The collective bargaining agreement would outline how time off would be approved. In many union CBAs, time off is approved in order of seniority.
Why did Clinica take away so many great benefits MHP had?
We understand that changes are hard. When we created the combined benefits for the integrated organization, our goal was to create benefits that were fair, consistent, and sustainable for a larger, more diverse organization. Some legacy MHP benefits were changed or removed, and some legacy CFH benefits were changed or removed. But we made thoughtful, intentional decisions to support benefits across a much larger organization.