On May 23, workers from the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center rallied outside of their clinic located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The workers from Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union-OPEIU Local 98236 demanded voluntary recognition from management. While they expected a response from management at 3 p.m., the union learned that management had gone behind the backs of the union members and requested a deadline extension from the National Labor Relations Board.
The NLRB did not provide the extension; management still chose to not communicate with the workers at all. Recently, management has begun escalating retaliation against the healthcare workers and fired a key organizer and longtime abortion counselor. However, the union remains determined and is continuing to fight for a union and reproductive justice.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to increased demand for clinics operating in sanctuary cities. In Pennsylvania there are now only 18 abortion clinics, a decrease from 145 since 2022. Though Pittsburgh is considered a sanctuary city for both gender-affirming care and abortions, there are only two clinics in Pittsburgh: ARHC and Planned Parenthood. As a result, patients come from all over the state and from neighboring states such as West Virginia and Ohio to get often life-saving services that they are denied elsewhere.
This increased demand for service has been coupled with rapid reorganization of the clinic’s protocols which workers have deemed unsafe.
Emily Quinn, a counselor at ARHC told Liberation News that many clinic staff have worked there through the overturn of Roe v. Wade. She explained, “Those are the kinds of challenges that we are expected to deal with: increases in patient load, decreases in patient load.”
Other challenges include the constant crowd of anti-choice protestors Quinn and her coworkers have to walk through daily to enter their clinic.
Management prioritizes profit over people
Since the workers announced their union, management has canceled over 35 appointments to consult with lawyers. Colby Bell, an abortion counselor at ARHC, told Liberation News they also “cancelled many surgeries that people have been waiting a long time for.”
Bell added, “Now they’re saying that they haven’t had enough time, they requested an extension. I think canceling many patients’ appointments and delaying care for people to meet with their lawyers, they’ve had plenty of time and it should be an easy choice to voluntarily recognize.”
Far from voluntarily recognizing the union, management has doubled down on its anti-worker policy. Since refusing recognition, they abruptly fired Colby Bell after a day of counseling patients. Other union members have been given written reprimands.
Noah Thompson, a medical technician at ARHC for the last four and a half years, said that the union “has been a long time coming,” explaining to Liberation News that “over the last few months, we’ve been subjected to rapid-fire changes in policy and clinic protocols that we had no input on.”
“[ARHC] hired a new administrative person,” Thompson continued. “A few months ago, she started reorganizing the entire back of house protocol. The observation room is now used as a pre-operative as well as post-operative space, which gives me an eight to one patient ratio, which is very unsafe, especially when I’m working with post-operative patients who receive sedation and need care.”
Kelsey Leigh, a former employee of ARHC, attended the rally in solidarity with her former coworkers. While she “wouldn’t miss it for the world to stand here shoulder to shoulder with my colleagues, friends, and my comrades,” she had to leave ARHC because they did not provide a living wage, and she couldn’t support her family. Many employees of Allegheny Reproductive make less than $20 an hour to provide lifesaving care. Emily Quin, speaking in front of the crowd, told us she couldn’t afford an abortion at their clinic, if she had wanted one .
The union is ready to fight back in spite of union-busting
Management’s decision to not recognize the union has only proven to the workers their separate interests. Further, the firing of key organizer Colby Bell has demonstrated that ARHC needs a union! Members had hoped the progressive values held by the leaders of the clinic would extend to union recognition, but management made their positions clear. In the face of illegal union busting, Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union members are not discouraged. They will continue to struggle for democracy in their workplace and reproductive justice.
Feature image: Workers rally at AHRC for union recognition. Liberation photo
