Planned Parenthood reaches tentative contract with workers after 14 hours of negotiations
It took 37 bargaining sessions spanning over nearly two years — and a marathon final session — but Planned Parenthood workers, including in Des Moines, have finally reached their first tentative agreement.
After 14 hours of negotiating, the tentative agreement includes:
A 15-year wage scale for all union jobs with a guaranteed minimum wage increase of 4.5% in the first year, 11.75% total over three years, and with the lowest-paid employees receiving a 17% wage increase in the first year of the agreement.
Improvements in health care affordability for all members, and greater improvements for members with children and families.
Language that addresses harassment, equity and racial justice — including a labor-management committee to facilitate ongoing dialogue for the duration of the contract.
Grievance and arbitration procedure as well as language for progressive discipline (and just cause for terminations).
The agreement now goes to 430 Planned Parenthood workers in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, including approximately 30 people at the Susan Knapp Health Center in Des Moines for a vote. Workers for Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) voted in 2022 to form a union, but the two sides had not been able to arrive at an agreement until now.
The tentative agreement will now go out to union members to review, debate and vote over the next week on whether to approve the contract, and if the majority votes yes the three-year agreement will go into effect right away, retroactive to January 1.
The workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa that includes nearly 50,000 health care and long-term care workers in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and home care throughout both states.
“We are thrilled that the negotiation teams were able to reach a tentative union contract. It is a testament to the determination and engagement of everyone at the table. The contract will now be sent to all union members for a ratification vote,” said Molly Gage, vice president of human resources at Planned Parenthood North Central States in a prepared statement.
"I'm so excited that we reached a tentative agreement for our first union contract. Through my time at PPNCS — across multiple jobs — I have seen the challenges workers face every day. The critical work that we do has become even more politicized and under attack in recent years, and people are facing even greater challenges to access abortion care,” said Shay Gingras of Minneapolis, a senior research coordinator at PPNCS, in a press release.
Gingras, who was part of the bargaining team, called the negotiations a long, difficult process.
“We've lost too many amazing staff members because of issues we have been facing inside and outside of the organization, so I am happy we won protections and other gains to recognize our important work supporting our patients,” Gingras said in the press release.
The path to the union’s first pact with Planned Parenthood was a long one that included the threat of a strike if an agreement had not been hammered out. Frustrated by the inability to get a contract, Planned Parenthood employees picketed at clinics in Des Moines, Omaha, Nebraska, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota in late November.
The biggest stumbling block back in November, according to union officials, had been wages. Staring down a 12% increase in health insurance premiums in 2024, workers were seeking salary boosts to offset the rising insurance costs which the tentative agreement apparently addresses.
Separate from the Tentative Agreement, the two sides are still awaiting decisions from the National Labor Relations Board on pending Unfair Labor Practices charges.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Planned Parenthood, SEIU reach tentative agreement on union contract
