Bargaining Update
We have been bargaining for our first contract since February of 2022. In that time, we have come to Tentative Agreements (TAs) on a number of important issues, including creating a Labor Management Committee, defining Union Rights and outlining fair practices for Discipline, Discharge and Reduction in Force. We have advocated to protect popular status quo policies such as Parental Leave, Time Off, and Professional Development from being reduced or diminished. Overall, we have 22 of 29 articles TA’d, meaning our contract is about 75% complete.
However, some of the most critical elements of our contract remain stalled due to Democracy Works’s unwillingness to compromise on Promotions, Hiring, and Wages articles or respond to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion articles.
Informed by a consistent and inclusive democratic process within the unit, our bargaining team has made many concessions on the Wages and Promotions articles during the last 8 months of negotiation. While we have been eager to bargain in good faith, there are 4 key points within these articles that we cannot compromise on any further.
All full time employees should make at least $60k annually and no salary minimums should be lower than current ones.
The annual salary adjustment should be no less than $1500.
All promotions should come with a raise of at least 5%.
All positions in the unit should have clear leveling and potential promotion tracks.
The total costs of these changes applied universally to both in unit and out of unit employees adds less then $100k to the annual budget, and would be well worth it to ensure greater organizational stability through employee satisfaction and retention. In Democracy Work’s own 2024 employee engagement survey, two of the most critical themes with low satisfaction rates were Compensation, Career Path Opportunities and Retirement Contributions. Unfortunately, our attempts to preserve the long-term health of Democracy Works have been repeatedly rejected by leadership despite the organization recently receiving the largest donation in its history.
In response to upper management’s extreme delays and lack of compromise on these critical issues, almost 90% of unit members have participated in recent escalations – including a boycott of the CEO update meeting last month and a sick-out this past Tuesday, September 10th. The unit has made clear that it can and will act in solidarity to win a fair contract, and believes that any temporary discomfort is worth it to ensure that Democracy Works can continue to support voters for many years to come.
