UMN

Workers in the job families of IT, Marketing & Communications, Student Services, and Grants & Contracts across all UMN campuses are organizing a union with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 284. This includes both workers who are categorized as Professional & Administrative (P&A) and those categorized as Civil Service.
SEIU 284 is a union of over 10,000 education workers across Minnesota. Members are paraeducators, nutrition service workers, administrative assistants, custodians, preschool teachers, techs, adjunct professors, and more!

In 2024, major changes to the Public Employee Labor Relations Act (PELRA) went into effect, giving more than 23,000 employees at the University of Minnesota the ability to form a union on their terms. Until those reforms went into effect, UMN employees had extraordinary restrictions on creating a union.
Now is also a time of financial uncertainty and political hostility toward higher education. We are organizing for:
- Dignity and respect for university workers, including fair wages and protection from layoffs
- To uphold the mission of the University, including world-class education, groundbreaking research, and community-engaged outreach
- To stand up for the best interests of the students and the public we serve
- To strengthen the University by giving workers a say in decision-making
Our workforce creates billions in economic activity for our community each year. It’s time we took a seat at the table where University leaders make decisions about our jobs and lives.

Union members do! Unions like SEIU Local 284 are democratic organizations, which means we use voting by members to make decisions. Members vote to elect their bargaining committee, steward, Executive Board, and Executive Director.
At the bargaining unit level, members vote on all major decisions, such as what bargaining proposals to make, whether to accept a contract, whether to authorize a strike, and more.
At the union-wide level, members vote to decide SEIU Local 284’s annual budget, to decide changes to the bylaws, and to adopt policy positions or legislative priorities.

At the center of a union’s work is the contract that workers negotiate through their union with their employer. As a new bargaining unit, we will negotiate an entirely new contract with the University.
Steps to bargaining a new contract will include:
- Electing a bargaining committee
- Surveying members to identify needs and priorities
- Bargaining committee writing proposals based on member input
- All members voting on proposals developed by the bargaining committee
Once these proposals are finalized, our union will negotiate with the University. Our bargaining committee will negotiate the best possible contract and reach a Tentative Agreement, which members will then review and vote on. After members ratify the Tentative Agreement, the employer ratifies the contract.
No two contracts are the same, as each group has unique needs. Every contract contains pay rates and a grievance procedure; additional common benefits include health insurance, leaves, pension/defined contribution plans, and more. Our contract will be responsive to the needs of our union, keeping (and securing) what we love about working at the University, addressing concerns, and winning even more for workers.

In SEIU Local 284, all members pay the same 2% of earnings (two pennies on the dollar) up to the maximum of $75 a month. There are no initiation fees or minimum dues.
Members on non-paid status at their jobs do not pay dues and can remain in good standing.
Newly organized bargaining units do not pay dues until a first contract is ratified by both parties.

Strikes only occur when the members of the bargaining unit vote to authorize a strike, and then they only happen after negotiations have gone through the legal process. While strikes are not common in SEIU Local 284, they have occurred and are an important tool workers have to win improvements in their contracts or sometimes to hold on to previously won benefits.

With a union contract, after you pass your probationary period, you have the right to due process and just cause. Without a union contract, you are an at-will employee, and your employment can be terminated for any reason.
Many union contracts have seniority rights, recall rights, and other negotiated terms of employment that provide for additional job security.
Unionized workplaces have lower turnover rates and higher retention rates. Having a union contract helps employers have clear and consistent rules that lead to higher job satisfaction. A union contract also gives employees more of a voice in workplace decision making which leads to higher job satisfaction.

Most employers, even those who already have a large union presence, oppose their workers’ efforts to form a union. Employer opposition is not usually about money but power. Non-union workers are “At Will” employees, meaning that employers have full control and can terminate an employee with no reason at all. They can change schedules, policies, benefits, and even job descriptions without employee involvement or input.
Even though employers are likely to oppose union organizing, workers should remember that only the workers in the bargaining unit get a say in this decision, and they should take feedback from management with a grain of salt.
At the University, there are already ten active union contracts representing thousands of workers. With PERLA reforms now in effect, even more University workers are coming together to build unions, including the UMN Graduate Labor Union, who won their first contract in January 2025, and the UMN Resident Physicians Union, who won recognition of their union in March 2025 and are now preparing to negotiate their first contract.

If this happens, celebrate! Workers can and often do enjoy their first union raise before their union election even occurs. Whatever amount the employer provides is almost certainly still less than the workers deserve and can be accomplished through collective bargaining. And of course, without the protection of a union contract, an employer can change your pay, benefits, and terms and conditions at any time. After the union is officially recognized, the union will get to start bargaining from the higher amount. If an employer is willing to provide raises just on the threat of a union… imagine what can be achieved with the full power of a union organization!