Resolution No. 23: Healthcare, Service Sector, Education, Security, Telecommunications, Office, Technical, Professional and Public Employees

WHEREAS, our union has recognized since its founding that all workers deserve a decent wage, a safe workplace and dignity on the job. Based on this principle, our union organizes professional, education, healthcare, telecommunications, public sector and service sector workers to empower them through collective bargaining; and

WHEREAS, the over 140,000 members of our union in the healthcare, education, office, technical, professional, telecommunications, public and service sectors in the United States and Canada comprise a significant and growing portion of our membership and have sector-specific concerns and needs; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of these needs, our union in the United States created a Health Care Workers Council and a Public Employees Council to provide additional support to the roughly 50,000 healthcare members and 25,000 public employee members in a wide variety of healthcare and public sector jobs and workplaces; and

WHEREAS, in Canada, the USW created the Health Care Council and an Education Sector Council to provide ongoing assistance, research and to coordinate key bargaining issues; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of the global health crisis experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has never been a more important time to empower health care workers with the tools required to provide care safely and professionally. Front line workers put their own safety on the line to help our families. They must be able to negotiate fair contracts that protect their lives and interests; and

WHEREAS, in Canada in 2015, the 13,000 members of the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) joined our union to become TWU United Steelworkers Local Union 1944; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to that merger, the union has committed to create a telecommunications worker’s council which will bring together over 25,000 members in telecom and call centers from across North America and will seek to provide ongoing support, research and assistance to these members; and

WHEREAS, there are many facilities at which our union represents production and maintenance employees, but where white-collar employees remain unorganized. A concerted effort must be made to organize non-represented office, technical and professional employees working in our core industries so that everyone has a seat at the bargaining table, particularly where we have negotiated neutrality clauses; and

WHEREAS, we have been successful in Canada in organizing many service-related sectors including higher education, security, airport screening, call centers, nursing and retirement homes and hotels where our union now represents tens of thousands of service sector workers and has a strong, established track record of representing service sector workers; and

WHEREAS, in Canada, the union has organized over 10,000 new members in higher education over the last 20 years; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, the union has organized over 12,000 new members in higher education since 2022; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, the union has organized over 1,400 new members in healthcare since 2022; and

WHEREAS, in Canada, the union recently organized over 900 new members at 3 nursing homes; and

WHEREAS, although our union has successfully organized thousands of public sector workers throughout the United States and Canada, public employees are still denied the right to organize and bargain collectively in far too many U.S. states; and

WHEREAS, successful organizing of professional, education, healthcare, telecommunications, public and service sector workers require a strategic approach, utilizing skills and techniques that have been refined, and continue to be refined, in scores of organizing campaigns throughout the United States and Canada.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that:

1. Our union pledges its continued commitment to organizing and servicing professional, education, healthcare, telecommunications, public sector and service sector employees.
2. We pledge to continue to explore innovative new policies and programs that will provide our staff and members with the tools and strategies needed for organizing and servicing these rapidly growing sectors of our two countries.
3. We call upon each local union, as well as upon our members in workplaces where office, technical and professional employees are unrepresented, to help organize these workers in their facilities.
4. The USW will vigorously promote and fight to retain legislation granting public employees meaningful bargaining rights and will seek means to assist public employees who are denied the right to organize and bargain collectively.
5. We will promote and advocate for the enforcement of national nursing home staffing standards in the United States, ensuring that newly established safe staffing ratios in long-term care are adhered to consistently. Additionally, we will push for legislation at the state, provincial, and national levels in both the United States and Canada to establish clear and enforceable comprehensive safe staffing targets where none currently exist, benefiting healthcare workers and enhancing the quality of care provided. To uphold these standards, we will build a program of enforcement through active member engagement, empowering healthcare workers to monitor compliance, report issues, and advocate for safe staffing practices within their facilities.
6. The USW pledges to provide necessary assistance to public sector workers across various U.S. states, considering the specific laws and regulations in each state. This includes support for bargaining, grievance handling, and arbitration (if needed), emphasizing that the union is prepared to help members achieve success in their workplaces.
7. The USW aims to strengthen the public sector through education on relevant topics, including bargaining trends, health and safety issues, and legislative developments, especially OSHA regulations for states where they don’t currently apply. Additionally, the USW will host a Public Sector Conference every two years to organize and educate members on these topics.
8. We will continue to build power in the workplace for healthcare workers by organizing workers who provide care and support to patients, residents and citizens in the broad facets of our sector and to provide strategic support to our members by bargaining the strongest possible contracts, advocating for legislation and legislators that empowers healthcare workers to provide their patients with the highest level of quality care, and by training healthcare workers to utilize their strength in numbers to become decision makers in all aspects of their work.
9. The USW will mitigate the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new technologies on the healthcare sector. We endeavor to collectively bargain protections, ensuring that healthcare workers are adequately trained to use AI and emerging technologies, advocating for training programs provided at no cost and during paid working hours, tailored to the specific needs of each role, including AI tools, telemedicine platforms, and digital health records. We will fight for protections in collective bargaining agreements that prevent job loss or role reduction as a direct result of technology implementation, ensuring that new technologies enhance, rather than replace, the healthcare workforce. Our union will also prioritize the ethical use of AI and data privacy standards, advocating for policies that safeguard healthcare workers' and patients’ data. This includes requiring employers to adopt transparent guidelines on AI and data use, ensuring privacy rights and compliance with data protection standards. Finally, we will prioritize regular evaluations of the impact of new technologies on patient care, workload, and worker well-being, seeking annual reviews in collaboration with union representatives to address issues and make necessary adjustments that support quality healthcare and fair working conditions.
10. We will prioritize expanding access to mental health resources and training for healthcare workers, advocating for comprehensive mental health support programs that include counseling services, stress management training, and resilience-building workshops, provided at no cost to employees. We will fight for collective bargaining language that ensures mental health resources are readily available and accessible during working hours and that support is tailored to the unique demands of healthcare work. Our union will also prioritize initiatives that reduce workplace stressors by advocating for policies that address manageable workloads, reasonable scheduling, and adequate rest periods. Additionally, we will work to ensure that employers conduct regular assessments of mental health support needs and adjust resources accordingly, promoting a workplace culture that values mental well-being as integral to healthcare quality and worker retention.
11. The USW will continue to strengthen a structured, active, and member-driven USW Health Care Workers Council in the United States and the Health Care Council in Canada, who are focused on members through education on bargaining trends, communications, legislative issues, health and safety, and organizing through a Health Care Workers Council Conference held not less than every two years and a communication network led by District Coordinators who will coordinate regularly with International staff and each other to enable communications and support networks between local unions in the healthcare sector in each USW district. Furthermore, we will develop and circulate model contract language on a range of equity-related issues including: pay equity, access to paid sick days and family emergency leave, flexible work arrangements to accommodate family needs, union involvement in the hiring process and in training, and bereavement leave.
12. We will continue to build power in the telecommunications sector by providing support and assistance to our telecommunications workers to address specific health and safety issues in this sector, legislative reforms, contracting out and offshoring and to provide education and support to ensure that we bargain the best possible contracts that improve the working lives of our members in the telecommunications sector.
13. We will continue to build power in the higher education, security, hotel and airport screening sectors by providing strategic support to our members, by bargaining the strongest possible contracts and advocating for legislation that empowers workers to improve their working conditions and quality of life.