Champaign-Urbana Public Health employees form union

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - Nearly 100 Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) have come together with with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 to form a union.

According to a AFSCME press release, members say they’re fighting for fair pay, transparency, and equal opportunities.

The union, CUPHD United, was announced Friday in a public letter signed by members of the organizing committee.

The letter can be read here.

CUPHD employees say they’re proud of the work they do to help their community.

“I genuinely enjoy working with my clients and strive to build authentic relationships with each of them,” says Darya Shahgheibi, HIV case manager/counselor. “Helping my clients access the tools they need to live healthy and well is meaningful and rewarding. If I didn’t love my job, I wouldn’t be doing this–organizing our union will help me not only like the work I do with clients, but feel safe from the favoritism, unfair policies, and discrimination that plague my working environment.”

Some employees say that during the pandemic, they worked many hours per week of unpaid overtime.

“During COVID, my coworkers were told to fill out timesheets indicating they worked only 8 hours a day and no more than 40 hours a week, even if they worked much more,” Harm Reduction Specialist Aaron Umbarger said. “Our comp time policies are supposed to give us all time off for extra hours worked, but inconsistent rules across departments and the pressures of a huge workload often made it impossible for my coworkers to use the comp time they were due.”

The organizing committee is now collecting union cards signed by their co-workers.