About our movement

California's community clinics need help

One out of every six Californians receives care at a community clinic in our state. Community clincs often also provide dental, mental health, and other essential care, and they provide culturally-specific care to the diverse communities of our state. Clinics are a critical part of our healthcare safety net and without them, millions of Californians would have no access to basic and critical care.

Our community clinics have fallen into a crisis driven driven by understaffing, low pay, and sub-standard benefits for the essential workers keeping clinics running—all of which impacts timely access to care for our patients. California has made progress, but without improvements to our state’s safety net care we can’t fully deliver on the promise of providing access to healthcare for our vulnerable residents.

Most clinic staff are from the communities they serve. We love the work we do, but long hours, poor pay and benefits, and not having a collective voice in improving care has taken a toll that has led to high turnover. Now with the physical exhaustion and trauma of working during the pandemic we are seeing workers leaving clinic jobs for better opportunities. COVID-19 has shined a light on the dramatic health disparities for low income, immigrant, and Black and Brown Californians—communities hit hardest by the pandemic.

In 2022, we secured $70 million in recruitment and retention bonuses and in 2023 we won improved clinic transparency and a first-of-its-kind $25/hour minimum wage for clinic workers, but we know that to address the long-standing problems facing our clinics, we have to continue to speak out and demand more for our patients and for the dedicated healthcare workers at our clinics. We have to demand a union!

Empowering Clinic Workers

Clinic workers understand the root of the problems that they and their patients face every day. Clinic workers are joining together in a union, demanding a seat at the table with clinic executives so that workers can have a say in the decisions that impact patient care, in addition to having the opportunity to bargain for decent pay and benefits.

Our Victories

$1,000 Clinic Retention Bonus

Last year we secured $70 million in funding for retention bonuses for clinic workers. This year we once again made history by passing two landmark pieces of legislation

Clinic Transparency Bill (Senate Bill 779)

Makes sure that clinic executives are using funding to ensure that there are enough workers and that clinic funding is being spent on training programs that will help workers and patients – not just pay raises for clinic executives.

$25/hr Healthcare Minimum Wage Bill (Senate Bill 525)

Creates the nation’s first $25/hour healthcare worker minimum wage to fix our state’s healthcare worker shortage and ensures that healthcare workers can do the work they love and pay their bills


Community Clinics are required to raise the minimum wage to

$21 in Summer 2024

$22 in Summer 2026

$25 in Summer 2027


By creating a higher minimum wage for least paid workers, we raise the wage floor. This creates a ripple effect in the economy so even workers who are paid more than $25/hour get pay raises too. By staying united in our union and demanding clinic executives do the right thing, we can make sure that all clinic workers see wage increases.


How CCWU Members Are Making History

From heading to Sacramento to speak to lawmakers to standing together in our clinics to demand fair treatment from managers at our worksites, we’re making sure that clinic workers are heard loud and clear.

We’re Just Getting Started

 

To continue winning for clinic workers and the patients we serve, we have to stay united with SEIU-CCWU. Sign up or sign up additional clinic workers to become a part of SEIU Community Clinic Workers United to get the latest news and how you can be part of positive change for our clinics, our patients, and for all clinic workers in California.

 

 

  • Share our stories with elected representatives and the public. 

 

  • Hold employers accountable and make sure they aren’t breaking the law by not paying us fairly.