Why We Unionized
A Letter to Our Food Bank Family
We believe in the work we do, and in our mission, vision, and the future of the Food Bank. To support our work, we are uniting to form a union. Having a union will be good for us and for our organization. A union will result in an atmosphere of greater respect, dignity, and fairness; and it will give us input into how changes in the workplace affect us and the community we serve. A union contract gives us the right to have a say in our workplace. A union greatly increases our workplace protections and amplifies our voices into a collective voice. A union gives us the ability to stand together, to stand up for our coworkers, and to make sure everyone is treated equitably and with dignity.
Unions provide a basis for openness and transparency and, if necessary, the ability to enforce this. Forming a union will give us a say in decisions that impact our work, and allow us to make improvements, including:
• Cultivating fairness around compensation, benefits, and promotions
• Prioritizing consistent training specific to our jobs
• Advocating for safe and adequate staffing levels and increased staff retention
• Promoting ideas to better serve the mission of the Food Bank
• Implementing meaningful changes for racial, gender, age, and other forms of equity
• Improving access to vacation time and other benefits we’ve earned
We know this is possible because many non-profit organizations, such as Episcopal Community Services, Hamilton Families, Hospitality House, Independent Living, Senior & Disability Action, and St. Vincent DePaul are represented by OPEIU Local 29. They have made significant improvements in their contracts and working conditions. Unionized non-profits have been able to continue to impact their work standards and create a culture where everyone has a powerful voice at their organizations.
Belonging to a union means we’ll have a legally protected process and a united voice when we approach management to make positive changes. We’re not doing this because we’re against the Food Bank, or management. Just the opposite – because we care, we want the Food Bank to be the best that it can be for ourselves and for the community we serve.
Because a union means a sharing of power, sometimes employers are initially resistant to the process. However, we hope management will be supportive of our efforts to make the Food Bank more democratic and recognize that employee unions can create healthier, stronger, more stable and sustainable organizations. We ask them to respect our rights and remain neutral in this process to allow staff to organize without interference.
Creemos en el trabajo que hacemos, y en nuestra misión, visión y el futuro del Banco de Alimentos. Para apoyar nuestro trabajo, nos unimos para formar un sindicato. Tener un sindicato será bueno para nosotros y para nuestra organización. Un sindicato dará como resultado una atmósfera de mayor respeto, dignidad y justicia; y nos aporta una voz sobre cómo los cambios en el trabajo nos afectan a nosotros y a la comunidad que servimos. Un contrato sindical nos da derecho de tener una voz en nuestro lugar de trabajo. Un sindicatoaumenta en gran medida nuestras protecciones de trabajo y amplifica nuestras voces a una voz colectiva. Un sindicato nos da la capacidad de unirnos,para defender a nuestros compañeros de trabajo y asegurarnos de que todos reciban un trato justo y digno.
Los sindicatos proporcionan una fundación de sinceridad y transparencia y, si es necesario, la capacidad de aplicarlo. Formar un sindicato nos dará voz en las decisiones que afectan nuestro trabajo y nos permitirá realizar mejoramientos, que incluyen:
● Cultivar la equidad en torno a la compensación, los beneficios y las promociones.
● Priorizar la capacitación constante específica para nuestros trabajos
● Abogar por tener niveles seguros y adecuados de trabajadores, y una mayor retención de empleados.
● Promover ideas para servir mejor a la misión del Banco de Alimentos.
● Implementar cambios significativos para la equidad racial, de género, edad y otras formas de equidad.
● Mejorando el acceso al tiempo de vacaciones y otros beneficios que hemos obtenido
Sabemos que esto es posible porque muchas organizaciones comunitarias, como Episcopal Community Services, Hamilton Families, Hospitality House, Independent Living, Senior & Disability Action y St. Vincent DePaul son representadas por OPEIU Local 29 . Han realizado mejoramientos significativos en sus contratos y condiciones de trabajo. Las organizaciones comunitarias sindicalizadas han podido continuar impactando sus estándares de trabajo y crear una cultura donde todos tienen una voz poderosa en sus organizaciones.
Ser parte de un sindicato significa que tendremos un proceso legalmente protegido y una voz unida cuando nos enfrentamos a gerentes para hacer cambios positivos. No estamos haciendo esto porque estamos en contra del Banco de Alimentos o la administración. Todo lo contrario: porque nos importa, queremos que el Banco de Alimentos sea lo mejor posible para nosotros y para la comunidad a quien servimos.
Debido a que un sindicato significa compartir el poder, a veces los empleadores inicialmente se resisten al proceso. Sin embargo, esperamos que los gerentes apoyen nuestros esfuerzos para hacer que el Banco de Alimentos sea más democrático y reconozca que los sindicatos de empleados pueden crear organizaciones más saludables, más fuertes, más estables y sostenible. Les pedimos que respeten nuestros derechos y permanezcan neutrales en este proceso para permitir que los empleados se organicen sin interferencias.
我們相信我們所做的工作和堅信三藩市馬林食物庫會有美好的前景和未來。我們相信成立工會對
員工和公司都有正面影響。工會將帶來更大的尊重，尊嚴和公平的氣氛；它將為我們提供有關工
作場所變化如何影響我們和我們所服務社區的意見。工會合同使我們有權在工作場所發言。工會
極大地增強了我們對工作場所的保護，並將我們的聲音放大為集體的聲音。工會使我們有能力站
在一起，為我們的同事站起來，並確保每個人都得到平等和有尊嚴的對待。我們還希望確保每個
人都有機會了解工會的作用。
我們相信工會將在影響我們工作的決策上給予員工更大的發言權，並會對以下方面作出改善：
● 圍繞薪酬，招聘，晉升和紀律程序方面建立更公平和透明制度，更好地獎勵，招募和保留
員工
● 優先考慮對我們工作的持續培訓
● 建立一致和客觀的評估流程
● 實施有意義的改變，邁向不分種族，性別，年齡和其他形式的權益，一視同仁
● 建立一種使我們能夠為自己，同事，以及我們所服務的社區發聲的文化
● 改善休假時間和我們獲得的其他好處
我們為什麼相信工會有可能做到？ 例如： Episcopal Community Services, Hamilton
Families, Hospitality House, Independent Living, Senior & Disability Action, St.Vincent
DePaul ，這些由 OPIEU Local 29 工會所代表的非牟利機構員工的合同得到了顯著改善。其他先
後加入工會的非牟利機構，亦逐漸提高了標準和營造了一種使前線員工在工作方面擁有更大發言
權的文化。
建立工會可以使我們向管理層提出正面改變的過程中受到合法保護，更會把大家的聲音結合起來
傳遞出去。我們建立工會並不是在反抗三藩市馬林食物庫或管理層。相反，我們希望三藩市馬林
食物庫為了我們和我們所服務的社區而做得更好。
由於工會的意義在於共享權力，因此有時僱主最初會抗拒成立工會。但是，我們希望管理層支持
我們這份致力使食物庫成為一個更民主的機構所作出的努力，明白工會可以令機構更健康，强大
和持久。我們懇請他們在成立工會這件事上保持中立不干預
Testimonials
To be free, the workers must have choice. To have choice they must retain in their own hands the right to determine under what conditions they will work.
I learned that many of our own staff can’t afford to put food on their own table, despite working long hours at the food bank. I felt ashamed the we should expect the hungry to feed the hungry. Let’s give our workers a living wage!
Don’t be afraid, it is your right. Union all the way.
My coworkers and I have chosen to work at The Food Bank in part because we believe in its mission, but non profit workers are too often asked to accept less from their employers. We deserve transparency
I want a union because all people should be treated well not a select few. I want to join the union so we can work together to end hunger! I want to join the union so that we can all have one voice.
Unionizing is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issue because a union contract means transparency. It spells out a process for hiring, promotions and raises and removes unconscious bias from the process.
Love and Support your brothers & sisters in a fight for a better future.
I want a union because it will allow all employees to be treated fairly, have a right to a living wage and a transparent path to job growth.
I want a union because my co-workers work hard to provide for the community and they deserve a living wage.
I want a union because our voices together are stronger than one. Together we can create a better workplace. With our collective ideas, we can push for better ways to serve the community.
A vote for a union is just a vote for fairness on both sides.
A union can restore our faith in community. Too often decisions are made by a small handful of leaders that have no on-the-ground experience. A union enables all voices, perspectives, and experiences to come together to create a better future.
I want to join the union because we all deserve respect.
I want to join the union so that my coworkers are treated fairly and can afford to do this important work.
The Importance of Unions During COVID-19
