AFGE welcomed employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Clinical Contact Center (CCC) in California and Nevada to the AFGE family following a recent union election.
The workers voted to be represented by AFGE in the election held Sept. 22-Oct. 19 as a result of an agency reorganization.
Of the 55 votes cast, AFGE received 83% of the vote – 45 of the 54 tallied with one vote challenged. Nine votes went to another union. Despite representing only 45% of the bargaining unit employees, AFGE got 83% of the vote.
This was considered a high-turnout election as there were 105 eligible voters.
“We did this by activating an organizing committee throughout the unit and mobilizing workers to talk to workers,” said AFGE Membership and Organization Director Dave Cann. “We won by being a stronger union and having better contracts and representation for VA employees, but we never would have gotten that message to them if not for a strong organizing committee and sound fundamentals.”
The organizing campaign began in May 2023 when the VA announced a reorganization of the Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) 21 Clinical Contact Center. The VISN 21 reorganization impacted two units: a professional unit of 115 bargaining unit employees and a non-professional unit of 202 bargaining unit employees.
AFGE represented 193 of the non-pros (over 95%) and became the representative of the whole unit in July. Of the 115 non-professional employees, AFGE represented 52 while two other unions represented 63. The employees were spread out between Reno, Nev. and cities in California including Fresno and Palo Alto.
AFGE currently represents more than 291,000 employees at the VA under a strong master agreement that has just rolled over earlier this year.
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