Planned Parenthood workers in Nebraska seek to unionize

LINCOLN, Neb (KLKN) – Employees of Planned Parenthood North-Central States announced their filing for a union election Thursday morning.

Employees at all Nebraska Planned Parenthood locations that are not in management positions will be able to join the union if the proposal is approved.

The other states in the regional Planned Parenthood are Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

At a press conference, supporters said that after unionization efforts began a year ago, they received majority support before formally filing for a National Labor Relations Board election.

“The SCOTUS leak honestly just made us doing this more important,” said April Clark, a senior training and development specialist registered nurse. “So that we can, you know, give the absolute best care to the patients. We know that things are going to be very stressful, not only for patients, but for staff in the upcoming months if Roe does get overturned.”

The group estimates that throughout the five states, over 400 employees across 28 locations would qualify to unionize.

Supporters believe that unionizing will help standardize pay and establish support for each Planned Parenthood location in hopes of recruiting and retaining employees.

“With the current health care shortage that the pandemic has only worsened, recruiting staff right now and hanging onto staff is really difficult when we pay so much lower than any other health care provider in our region,” Clark said. “And that’s really impacting our staffing ratios. We’ve had to shut down clinics because one person called in and we didn’t have anyone to cover it.”

The group hopes that Planned Parenthood will willingly recognize the union because of the widespread support it received.

If Planned Parenthood does not recognize the union, the decision will go to a vote, which is expected by the end of the summer.