Thundermist Workers United

Happy Labor Day.

Our Work. Our Voices. Our Future.

Skip to why we’re organizing

Labor Day grew directly out of the union movement. The first Labor Day was organized by New York City’s Central Labor Union in 1882, bringing thousands of workers together to march for recognition and a stronger voice.

Many things workers now take for granted, including the eight-hour workday, weekends, overtime pay, and stronger workplace safety protections, were won because generations of working people organized together. Those changes were not simply given to them. Workers stood together and fought for them.

That history is a reminder of what a union makes possible. We have an opportunity to do that here at Thundermist, too.

Every day, we help people in our community get the care they need. Whether we’re answering phones, welcoming patients, coordinating appointments, or providing care, we all have a part in making this health center work. We help patients through difficult times and support our coworkers when they need a hand.

We’re proud of what we do, and we know what it takes to do it well.

The people doing the work should have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect it. That’s why we’re organizing our union.

We want fair pay and enough staff to handle the work we’re being asked to do. We want our experience to be respected and our concerns to be taken seriously. We want to give patients the time and attention they need while also taking care of our own health and well-being. Those are reasonable things to ask for, and they matter to all of us.

Whether you’ve been involved from the start or are still trying to understand what a union would mean for you, we want you to be part of the conversation. Ask questions. Talk with your coworkers about what’s working and what needs to change. What we build together should reflect the people who work here.

Happy Labor Day, and a huge thank you to our Thundermist coworkers for everything you do for our patients and for each other.

About our union

Why now

Why are we doing this?

We've lost pay, benefits, and good people for three years running.

Thundermist isn't the place it used to be to work. Most of us have felt it — in a paycheck that buys less than it used to, in how many people we're covering for on an ordinary day, in a schedule we had to rearrange our lives around.

The RIF (Reduction In Force). We lost 3% of our pay, and with it our bonuses, stipends, shift and training differentials, and unmatched retirement contributions.

The years after. The 3% eventually came back. Nothing else did — no raise, no cost-of-living adjustment, and no market analysis to bring us in line with what other Rhode Island Federally Qualified Health Centers pay. The bonuses have never returned, and there's still no clear plan to bring them back.

Insurance kept climbing. This year our deductible more than doubled.

The work grew while the staff shrank. More piled on every year, with fewer people left to carry it.

The raise we did get came up short. It didn't cover the years without one, and it brought back none of what we lost. With inflation and the rising cost of living, most of us are worse off now than we were before the RIF.

We asked first. Coworkers have taken these concerns directly to the CEO, in good faith and more than once. Nothing on this list changed.

Meanwhile the door never stops revolving. Good people leave, we train the ones who replace them, and then those people leave too. Better pay and benefits aren't only about what's in our checks — they're how you keep people worth keeping, and how you get them in the door at all.

It isn't only money. It's hard to give patients what they need when there aren't enough of us to do it — and that isn't something any one person fixes by working harder. A contract lets us bargain over staffing and workload, which is really bargaining over the care we're able to give. It's how people without much individual leverage get a voice that's hard to ignore — by having one together instead of one at a time.

This is happening right next to us. Last year every intern and resident at Rhode Island Hospital, Butler, Women & Infants, and Kent organized — and they're at the table now, bargaining their first contract. You may have seen them in the news. They're with SEIU too, in the division for residents and fellows.

The basics

Why a union?

Right now our pay, our PTO, our insurance, and our schedules are policy, not a promise anyone signed. Management writes the policy. Management can change the policy at any time. We only find out after.

A union replaces that with a contract — a legal document both sides sign. Once it's signed, management can't change our pay or benefits without sitting down with us first.

That's the whole thing.

"But who is the union?"

We are. You and your coworkers. When you hear "the union voted" or "the union decided," that means we voted. The workers at Thundermist would elect or select coworkers to serve on the bargaining team, identify bargaining priorities and everyone would vote on the proposed contract. SEIU 1199NE staff and attorneys would provide organizing, bargaining and legal support.

Who we'd be joining. 1199 SEIU New England. It's the largest clinic union in the state, with more than 500 clinic workers at community health centers like ours.

Questions & Answers

Questions on everyone's mind

How much is this going to cost me? → Will I lose things that I like? → Where would the money come from? → Can management fire me for coming together with my coworkers? → What if we strike? I can't lose a paycheck. → How it works → What You Might Hear→

Next

Are you with us?

Come together with your coworkers by signing a card! Then have one conversation. Just ask a coworker what would have to change for this job to work for them long-term. What do they want for themselves, their families, and their patients?

Questions

If you have questions or ideas, talk to one of your coworkers who’s on the organizing committee