WE HAVE OUR ELECTION DATES! VOTE “YES” TO UNIONIZE, AND NEGOTIATE FOR THE WORKPLACE YOU WANT!
DC Puerto Rico: Thursday, January 2nd
10 AM – 12 PM and 3 PM – 5 PM
Monday, January 6th
Tuesday, January 7th (cancelled due to snow)
Monday, January 13th
5 AM – 7 AM, 10 AM – 12 PM, and 3 PM – 5PM
Tuesday, January 14th
10 AM – 12 PM and 3 PM – 5PM
*Select VA employees will vote by mail*
We believe in the work we do, and in our mission, vision, and the future of the Capital Area Food Bank. To support our work, we are uniting to form a union. Having a union will be good for us and for our organization. A union will result in an atmosphere of greater respect, dignity, and fairness; and it will give us input into how changes in the workplace affect us and the community we serve. A union contract gives us the right to have a say in our workplace. A union greatly increases our workplace protections and amplifies our voices into a collective voice. A union gives us the ability to stand together, to stand up for our coworkers, and to make sure everyone is treated equitably and with dignity.
Unions provide a basis for openness and transparency and, if necessary, the ability to enforce this. Forming a union will give us a say in decisions that impact our work, and allow us to make improvements, including:
• Cultivating fairness around compensation, benefits, and promotions
• Prioritizing consistent training specific to our jobs
• Advocating for safe and adequate staffing levels and increased staff retention
• Promoting ideas to better serve the mission of the Food Bank
• Implementing meaningful changes for racial, gender, age, and other forms of equity
• Improving access to vacation time and other benefits we’ve earned
We know this is possible because many non-profit organizations in the DMV, such as Casa de Maryland, American Nurses Association, Southern Poverty Law Center, and many more have unionized and are represented by the Baltimore Washington News Guild, AFL-CIO. Furthermore, several Feeding America food banks, such as San Francisco Marin Food Bank, Alameda County Community Food Bank, and Oregon Food Bank have unionized in recent years. They have made significant improvements in their contracts and working conditions. Unionized non-profits have been able to continue to impact their work standards and create a culture where everyone has a powerful voice at their organizations.
Belonging to a union means we’ll have a legally protected process and a united voice when we approach management to make positive changes. We’re not doing this because we’re against the Food Bank, or management. Just the opposite – because we care, we want the Food Bank to be the best that it can be for ourselves and for the community we serve.
Because a union means a sharing of power, sometimes employers are initially resistant to the process. However, we hope management will be supportive of our efforts to make the Food Bank more democratic and recognize that employee unions can create healthier, stronger, more stable and sustainable organizations. We ask them to respect our rights and remain neutral in this process to allow staff to organize without interference.
Capital Area Food Bank is Unionizing 