Thundermist Workers United
Questions & answers
Question 1
Nothing right now. Nothing at the vote. Dues only start after we win a contract and the raises are in your check.
There are also no signup fees for workers forming a new union.
No raise, no dues. Dues only exist once there's a contract with raises in it. If we never win a raise, you never pay anything. That's the rule.
Once dues do start, they're based on your hourly rate and the hours you actually work — part-time pays less than full-time — and there's a cap, so they stop rising at the top end. The most anyone will pay is $79 a month, and that's only for the highest earners. Most people's dues will be lower.
There are also no signup fees for workers forming a new union.
Question 2
No. Bargaining starts from everything you already have. Nothing changes unless both sides agree to change it — and nothing is final until we vote yes.
Voting for a union does not erase what we already have. Your pay, your benefits, and your time off are the starting point, not something that gets erased and rebuilt from zero.
Nothing changes unless both sides agree to change it, and no contract takes effect until we vote to accept it. If what came back were worse than what we have now, we'd vote it down.
A union opens the door and gives us a seat at the table. We decide what we want to fight for, and our unity determines our strength.
Some things workers commonly decide to fight for — and win — in their contracts:
Question 3
The same place it comes from now — and it's already being spent. Just not on us.
Community health centers are not rich. Thundermist gets our tax dollars to run, and we believe we should have a say in where those dollars go. That is what a strong union allows for.
Look at what's been funded lately:
Other healthcare organizations in Rhode Island pay their clinical and front-desk staff better than we're paid, have more affordable insurance, more workplace protections, more PTO, better retirement, and more paid holidays.
So the real question isn't "is there money."
It's: who decides where it goes? Right now that's decided by people who aren't us, in rooms we're not in. A union doesn't create money. It puts us in the room.
Question 4
No. Organizing with your coworkers is protected by federal law, and has been since 1935.
Organizing is a federally protected right. We have a right to talk with coworkers about pay, working conditions, and to form a union.
Five things your employer is not allowed to do:
They can't tell you that you'll lose your job, your hours, your benefits, or your schedule if this goes through. It still counts when it's said gently — "I'd hate to see people lose hours over this" is a threat, not concern.
They can't ask how you'll vote, whether you signed a card, or who else is involved.
A sudden raise or promotion offered during a campaign, to buy your vote, is illegal.
No watching who talks to who, no monitoring meetings, no acting like they're keeping tabs.
This one is Rhode Island law, not federal. Since July 2025, an employer here can't discipline, fire, or penalize you for refusing to attend a mandatory meeting about their opinion on unionizing — one-on-one, small group, or all-staff. It also covers refusing to watch a video or read an email making their case.
They can still hold the meeting and say their piece. What they can't do is require you to be there, or punish you for walking out. The law is new, so if anyone suggests attendance is mandatory, write it down.
If any of that happens, write it down the same day.
Date. Time. Who said it. Their exact words. Who else heard it. Then talk to an organizing committee member who will send it to an 1199 SEIU New England organizer.
You wouldn't be handling it alone. We are joining the largest healthcare workers union in New England, with 32,000+ members. What you report goes forward with the union's full weight and legal resources behind it.
If a manager asks you point-blank whether you signed a card: they aren't allowed to ask that. You can simply say you'd rather not talk about it. You don't owe them an answer and you don't have to lie.
Question 5
A strike is a last resort, not a plan — most first contracts are settled without one. A strike could only happen if we voted for it.
Here's what that means in practice.
A strike isn't the first move. There are other collective actions we would take first to hold management accountable to what we need and deserve. Usually that's enough for management to pay attention and be reasonable.
It can't happen suddenly. Federal law requires that a healthcare employer be given 10 days' written notice before any strike, specifically so patient care can be covered. Nothing happens overnight.
It would be our decision. Nobody can call a strike on us — not an organizer, not the union office. We would have that discussion together, and it would be our decision through a vote.
There is a strike and defense fund. Part of what dues pay for is a fund that supports members during a strike.
The process
A card says you want to hold a vote on unionizing.
Sending our cards to the National Labor Relations Board triggers strong federal protections, and the labor board will notify Thundermist that we will have a union election. Their timeline can vary, but it usually takes about a month to get to a “stipulated agreement.” This will include when our election is, where it is, and who can vote.
They will to try to divide us. We'll stand together and show our unity proudly. Read "What You Might Hear" below so none of it lands as a surprise.
The National Labor Relations Board runs the election. The outcome is decided by a majority of votes cast.
We’ll discuss with each other what we want to fight for. An organizer will help guide us on what we might want to fight for, but we make all of the decisions.
We have the final say on the contract. It takes effect when we vote yes — and if we send it back, our bargaining team keeps pushing.
In that order. Dues pay for organizers, legal help, and the strike fund — the things that make a contract more than a piece of paper.
Before it comes up
We are the union. Organizers from SEIU 1199NE will help us build and maintain our union, the way a coach helps a team, but we make the decisions.
Most managers here are working under the same pressures we are — short-staffed, handed a budget, not asked. A contract doesn't put us against them. It puts the rules in writing, so nobody has to guess and nobody has to negotiate alone.
We have. That's most of what the last three years were. The problem was never that nobody asked — it's that asking is something one person does, and one person is easy to say no to.
Right now, when someone doesn't carry their load, the extra falls on whoever's standing closest, and it's nobody's job to fix it. Workload, assignments, and staffing levels are all things you can put in a contract. Complaining to a manager isn't a rule. A contract is.
Bargaining starts from what you have today — it doesn't wipe the slate. Nothing in your pay or benefits changes unless both sides agree to change it, and nothing is final until we vote to accept it. If what came back were worse than today, we'd vote it down.
Other healthcare organizations in Rhode Island pay their clinical and front-desk staff better than we're paid, have more affordable insurance, more workplace protections, more PTO, better retirement, and more paid holidays.
If other places can afford that, this isn't only a money problem. It's about who comes first — and so far that hasn't been us.
Dues are set by membership. The most anyone will pay is $79 a month, and that's only for the highest earners. Most people's dues will be lower.
Things are already changing — pay, benefits, and staffing have all moved, just not in our direction. The question isn't whether things change. It's whether we get a say in how.
When healthcare workers start organizing, what comes next is built to do one thing: make people feel alone, confused, and like it isn't worth trying. It's the cheapest way for management to maintain the status quo. Sticking together and staying informed is the answer to all of it.
Next
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