Abortion workers unionize to protest difficult employment circumstances
In Pittsburgh, both of the abortion clinics have seen attempts to form unions to demand better pay and working conditions.
Abortions workers have been overworked, overstressed, and had dangerous conditions at their employment for years. Now, many are seeking to unionize to demand better treatment.
About a week ago, I received a news release from the Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union, which consists of employees at the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center in Pittsburgh. Their group is part of OPEIU Local 98, which represents workers across various sectors. Colby Bell, a union member who was fired from the clinic, spoke to me about their demands and concerns.
“Management tends to want to extract more labor from us and get, for lack of a better word, more for their money out of our work without actually paying us adequate wages and providing safe staffing and patient ratios,” Bell said.
Officials at the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center didn’t respond to an email I sent. They have not yet recognized the union.
Health-care worker unions in 21 out of 25 states where abortion is accessible have filed at least 269 notices to seek new contracts with their employers since 2022, according to data from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, which mediates labor-management disputes. Many Planned Parenthood clinics across the country have seen their employees unionize. Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania Workers spoke to ReproJobs, a website dedicated to employees within that sector.
They claimed in that interview that their clinics were staffed at barebones levels, resulting in constant turnover. People were so burnt out that we had daily call-offs, they said. When they were working, they had to perform multiple jobs simultaneously. The employees claimed that the appointment schedules were never adjusted to reflect staffing shortages, and the staff-to-patient ratios were unfair to workers and patients receiving services.
The challenges abortion workers have faced have increased since the Dobbs decision.
“We see many more patients traveling for care,” Bell said. “We see increased stigma and politicization of our work. It completely changed the landscape of abortion care because of the number of states where abortion is illegal or very difficult to access.”
Bell said staff members are being asked to take on additional work for no extra pay to care for more patients and in what they regard as unsafe staffing ratios.
Bell’s union comprises a cross-section of clinic staff, including front desk workers, medical assistants, counselors, and nurses, all united by a shared vision for improved working conditions, transparency, and patient safety. In a formal letter to ARHC management, the workers cited unresolved concerns around wages, staffing, and workplace sustainability as motivating factors.
The union has requested voluntary recognition by Friday, May 23, at 3 p.m. and has filed with the National Labor Relations Board to determine if an election is necessary. Workers also made clear that any policy changes made after their official announcement would violate federal labor protections regarding the “status quo” during union recognition and contract negotiations.
I’ll have more to report as this situation develops.