After two years of negotiations, workers at the Lyon-Martin Community Health Center have ratified their first union contract. The agreement includes 10 percent raises, a ban on subcontracting, and new protections for anyone who changes their gender or has their immigration status challenged.
The three-year agreement covers approximately 40 clerical and healthcare workers at the San Francisco facility, which provides medical and mental health care services for the LGBTQIA2S+ community, including primary care and gender-affirming care.
“We put a lot of work into this contract, but we’re going to get a lot out of it, and so will the people we serve. The raises will go a long way toward keeping workers here, and we’re all proud to set a new precedent in workplace protections amid the Trump Administration’s attacks on the immigrant and LGBTQIA2S+ communities.,” said Mae Petti, a therapist who has worked at the center for the past year.
Workers fought hard for wage increases and decided to accept 10 percent, aware that the nonprofit’s funding was on less solid ground with the election of Donald Trump and San Francisco’s sizable budget deficit.
In addition to wage gains, the contract includes pioneering language to protect workers who change their gender or face challenges to their immigration status.
The contract holds that no employee “shall suffer any loss of seniority, compensation, or benefits due to any changes in the employee’s name, gender, or social security number.”
Additionally, if Lyon-Martin receives notice from federal authorities challenging the immigration status of an employee, the agency is required under the contract to notify NUHW and make every effort to first meet with NUHW before taking any action. The agency also agreed not to take “any adverse action against any employee” for whom they receive notice that the information on their W-2 form does not match the information, including name or gender, on their social security card.
The agreement also provides:
- $2,000 longevity premiums every three, six, and nine years.
- $100 a month, prorated based on full-time employment, to offset transportation costs.
Petti said the long bargaining process was “arduous,” but has helped build camaraderie and strengthen bonds between coworkers.
“We are still working hard on creating a community culture between staff,” they said. ‘I think that having a union just strengthens us in a way that I do not think was imaginable before.”
