{"id":50734,"date":"2025-12-03T05:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/50734\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T05:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:45:08","slug":"pittsburghs-people-of-year-2025-labor-arhc-union-workers-pittsburgh-city-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/50734\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh\u2019s People of Year 2025 \u2014 Labor: ARHC Union Workers – Pittsburgh City Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since unionizing in June, workers at the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center (ARHC) have been holding the line. The newly-formed Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union<\/a> (ARJU), affiliated with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), began bargaining for its first contract in August. Employees at the region\u2019s only independent abortion clinic are negotiating for higher pay, healthcare, benefits including parental leave, codified gender inclusivity practices, and other protections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really just asking for a fair seat at the table,\u201d Noah Thompson, an observation technician and ARJU bargaining committee member, tells Pittsburgh City Paper.<\/p>\n

In the three months since the bargaining process began, ARJU members say they\u2019ve faced firings<\/a>, stonewalling by management, a week-long clinic closure<\/a> without pay, and a winnowed staff \u2014 shrinking their bargaining unit from 15 to eight people, says Thompson. Those fired have included longtime employees like Nikki Terney, who\u2019d been planning ARHC\u2019s 50-year anniversary celebration. (The union has filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.)<\/p>\n

Contract negotiations remain \u201cslow-going,\u201d and in the wake of unionization, workers have experienced what MA Raffaele, a front lead, intake specialist, and counselor, calls a wholesale \u201cculture shift\u201d at the previously \u201chuman-forward\u201d clinic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does feel like the carpet\u2019s been ripped out from under our feet,\u201d Raffaele tells City Paper. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of confusion on what is actually happening, and were those values [that ARHC espoused] even real?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(L to R) ARHC union workers Raven Kirksey, Noah Thompson, Emily Quinn, M.A. Raffaele, and Katherine Yoho Credit: Mars Johnson<\/p>\n

But the challenges have only hardened the union\u2019s resolve, particularly in a time of restricted abortion access following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization decision in 2022. ARHC is the only clinic in western Pennsylvania that provides surgical abortions up to the state legal limit of 23 weeks and six days of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh is such an important access point,\u201d Thompson says.<\/p>\n

ARJU believes their recent experiences affirm the need for their union and underscore that improving their workplace conditions is a larger struggle that impacts patient care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re asking for living wages and fair working environments that everyone can thrive in,\u201d says Monet Murphy, an observation technician, ultrasound assistant, and bargaining committee member. \u201cWe\u2019re doing our best to maintain abortion access and still have rights for the employees [who] are doing their damnedest to make sure everybody gets the care that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

As ARJU members await a contract, they\u2019ve been heartened by an outpouring of community support, including from The Auto(nomous) Body Shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made some really beautiful connections,\u201d Emily Quinn, a counselor who left the clinic in November after five years, tells CP. \u201cEven if the clinic is not providing the level of care that it should be, there are people in your community who will help you find that care \u2026 I still feel like I am in the abortion community of Pittsburgh, which is a beautiful place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is important,\u201d Quinn adds. \u201cEveryone deserves fair, equal wages and support. As much as we relayed [those values] as a clinic to the patients, the people that work there are also part of the community, and it\u2019s fair and normal to want to support that \u2014 and to work in a place that supports that.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article appears in The Big Winter Issue: Winter Guide\/People of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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