Negotiations and Strikes

Your Negotiation Team

SEIU members at your place of work can become part of your negotiation team by being elected as your Unit Chairs. They advocate for improving your contract and give a voice to you and your coworkers. Your negotiating team works with Esau Freeman, your Business Representative, who has over 9 years of negotiation experience with SEIU.

You can view your current negotiation team by checking out your Contract page and viewing your Unit Chairs.

Per SEIU 513 Bylaws, your Unit Chairs are elected every two years. Unit Chair positions are up for election in the Fall of 2024. If you are interested in running for a Unit Chair position, reach out to your Organizer Maia for more information.

If you are interested in running for an Executive Board position, click here.

The Negotiation Process

Terms of negotiation vary between employers, but typically we have ground rules to ensure the process is respectful and fair. These ground rules can include terms that ensure items brought to the table are:

  1. Affordable (IE: Can it be reasonably put into place by your employer without going over their budget?)

  2. Workable and Sustainable (IE: Can it be implemented? Is it well-defined? Is it legal?) 

  3. Something that will Address the Issue

  4. Ratifiable (IE: Can the membership vote on it and come to an agreement about it?) 

Terms of when contracts are negotiated depend on your bargaining unit. Negotiations currently are:

  • Every year, starting in January for USD 259 employees and City of Hutchinson employees.

  • Every three years, Starting in January of 2024 for City of Wichita employees.

Striking

Under current Kansas Law with the Public Employer-Employee Relation Act, it is a prohibited practice and evidence of bad faith for Public Employees to strike. Your ability to strike as a Public Employee is dependent on state law. SEIU Local 513 will continue to follow and abide by State and Federal labor laws.

“I Wish We Could Strike” is something that we often hear from public employees that we represent. While we completely understand this desire at its core, it's important to remember that striking is the nuclear option during negotiations!

  • A strike means that you are going without work for an indefinite amount of time. Most Unions who strike do have a strike fund. However, often Members don't receive funds until they have hit their 3rd week of striking. Even then, Members typically only receive $200-$300 per week!

  • Striking requires Members to volunteer their time to hold the strike line. For Local Unions over this past summer, that meant spending 6-8 hours per day in 100+ degree weather!

  • Due to the inability of Public employees to strike, SEIU follows PEERA's goal to create "a harmonious workplace." This does not mean that your negotiation team is cozied up with your employer! It means that when your coworkers on your negotiation team sit down with SEIU staff and your employer at the bargaining table, the process is streamlined to get as much done as we can without delays.

  • Strikes typically mean the employer is failing to listen to reasonable demands. If you hear about a Union striking, it is almost always because the employer has failed to be reasonable in the negotiation process. UPS, WGA and other Unions are very reasonable in their requests vs the profit margins that their employers have made. Keep that in mind when a Union strike disrupts your daily life!

Units that cannot strike due to being Public Employees are USD 259 Classified and Security, City of Wichita and the City of Hutchinson Union.