Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Code for America Workers United (CWU) members, members of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first collective bargaining agreement. The contract includes across-the-board wage increases, additional paid family and medical leave time, adoption and fertility support, gender-affirming care, expanded worker protections against caste-based discrimination and intrusive monitoring, and limits on the use of contracted and temporary workers in favor of full-time employees, and establishes a neutral arbitration process to resolve disputes between the union and management.
“Members of CWU work tirelessly to help improve the social safety net for everyone; this contract is a safety net for us. We are excited about what we won in this contract, and I am also proud we were able to hardcode Code for America’s values into the contract, from giving staff a role in making decisions that will impact them to ensuring criminal background checks will not put anyone’s employment at risk,” shared Matt Bernius, a principal researcher at Code for America since March 2020 and a member of the bargaining committee.