NUHW members at San Francisco’s nonprofit Mission Neighborhood Health Center were in the second year of the three-year contract that already included significant salary increases when their employer came to them looking for an extension that would bring five years of labor peace.
The contract extension, ratified by workers this week, includes a 10 percent raise this year and 4 percent raises in each of the next three years until the contract expires in 2028. It also maintains the gains workers made in their previous contract campaign, including an additional floating holiday.
“We discussed it among the shop stewards and thought it was a good proposal, so we decided to put it to a vote,” said Agustin Martinez, a medical assistant and union shop steward at the Mission Bernal Clinic.
The new agreement covers nearly 70 medical assistants, pharmacy techs, clerical and support staff at Mission Neighborhood Health Center who provide affordable health care to mostly Spanish-speaking, low-income immigrant families in San Francisco.
“This is something that’s going to make an immediate difference,” Martinez said. “It’s going to help us pay off our bills and buy the things we need.”
