Thursday, July 31, about a dozen SEIU 1021 members at Felton Institute’s Family Developmental Center in San Francisco joined together to deliver a petition signed by 95% of the bargaining unit to management.

Most of the members work in Felton’s early childhood education program and are currently negotiating their next contract. In bargaining, management has put forward extreme anti-union proposals that would effectively strip members of their voice on the job, including demanding the right to eliminate programs, change job descriptions, and automate or contract out the members’ work without any negotiations. 

Management is also moving ahead on unilaterally and arbitrarily changing classroom assignments for teachers and supporting staff as they ignore the union’s proposal at the table to implement a fair process that would allow teachers and assistants to bid on classrooms based on seniority.

The key demands of the petition were for management to stop reassigning classrooms until an agreement is reached at the bargaining table and to withdraw the anti-union proposals currently on the table.

“We just want to feel respected and valued here,” said Rosaura Ramos, a teacher at Felton, as they delivered the petition. ”If we have something to say, we want to be heard and respected and be able to have our opinion of the classroom changes instead of Felton deciding for us.” 

Monday, August 4, Dr. Yohana Quiroz, Felton’s chief operations officer, responded to the petition by rejecting all of the workers’ demands, refusing both to pause staffing reassignments and to withdraw the anti-union proposals on the table.

Management’s refusal to take its workers’ input seriously make efforts to unionize the rest of Felton’s frontline staff all the more urgent. Currently, only staff with the Family Developmental Center are part of the SEIU 1021 bargaining unit at Felton. However, workers from across Felton’s programs and locations are organizing and signing union authorization cards to join SEIU 1021 and strengthen Felton’s union, which would empower all Felton line staff employees to improve wages and working conditions and ultimately deliver better services.