FAQs

A union is an organization of workers who join together to negotiate with their employer as a collective. By bargaining as a group, workers have far more leverage than any individual employee negotiating alone. Research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that union workers earn 13.5% more than comparable non-union workers — a difference that reflects real gains in wages, benefits, and job protections won at the bargaining table.

Established in 1972, the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) is an affiliate of AFSCME and the AFL-CIO based in Sacramento, CA. UAPD represents approximately 4,500 private and public sector healthcare practitioners. 

Pursuant to NLRB rules, Fred Hutch is required to provide UAPD with your name, title, shift, home address, home phone number, cell phone number and personal email address. Fred Hutch would not provide this information to an external party unless required by law to do so. UAPD organizers are allowed to contact you, and they likely will. It’s important to remember that you always have the right to ask to be removed from their contact list or from specific modes of communication.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent U.S. federal agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

When a union represents you, your employer must negotiate wages, benefits, schedules, and working conditions with your elected representatives — and any agreement reached becomes a legally binding contract. This means Fred Hutch cannot unilaterally cut your pay or change your working conditions mid-contract. Any change requires negotiation and your union's agreement. That's a protection no individual employee has on their own.

Once a union is voted in, it represents all workers in the bargaining unit. The union then negotiates a contract — typically lasting three years — that is legally binding on both sides. Crucially, that means Fred Hutch also cannot reduce wages or benefits without the union's agreement during that period. The contract stability works both ways: it protects workers from management unilaterally changing terms just as much as it commits the bargaining unit to the agreement.

Workers who have concerns about their union can raise them through the union's democratic processes, vote out union leadership, or — after the contract period — petition for a new election. In practice, unions that deliver for their members rarely face decertification efforts.

As a union member, you’d be covered by the collective bargaining agreement — a contract that binds Fred Hutch just as much as it binds you. The contract establishes clear, enforceable rules for scheduling, seniority, vacation, wages, and other working conditions. Rather than those terms being set unilaterally by management, they become negotiated agreements that Fred Hutch is legally required to honor.

Union members pay dues, which fund the union’s work on your behalf — contract negotiations, grievance handling, and legal representation if you face discipline. Like any democratic organization, the UAPD has bylaws that members are expected to follow. Members also have a voice in shaping those bylaws and electing union leadership.

Yes — and this is one of the most meaningful protections a union provides. In a non-union workplace, Washington is an at-will employment state, meaning Fred Hutch can discipline or terminate workers without needing to demonstrate cause. Under a typical union contract, the employer must show just cause for any discipline or termination.

If you believe you've been treated unfairly, the union can file a grievance on your behalf, and if the dispute isn't resolved, it goes to binding arbitration — an independent decision-maker who can order reinstatement or removal of the discipline. That's a level of due process that non-union workers simply don't have.

Collective bargaining is a process by which an employer and a union negotiate on the terms and conditions of your employment, such as:

• Pay
• Benefits
• Work schedules
• Flexibility
• Other workplace adjustments

Collective bargaining gives workers a legally binding seat at the table. Any agreement reached is a contract — enforceable by law — that Fred Hutch cannot change without the union's consent. The process does take time, but the outcomes speak for themselves: according to the Economic Policy Institute, union workers earn 13.5% more on average than comparable non-union workers in the same industries. That premium is the product of collective bargaining working as intended.

The evidence strongly suggests yes. Research from the Economic Policy Institute shows a 13.5% union wage premium — meaning union workers earn significantly more than comparable non-union workers after controlling for industry, occupation, and experience. For an APP earning $165,000, that’s an additional $22,275 per year.

While specific contract terms are always subject to negotiation, workers who bargain collectively have far more leverage than those negotiating alone. Fred Hutch must come to the table and bargain in good faith — that’s the law. The decades of evidence on union wage premiums reflect what happens when workers use that leverage.