Unions for Veterinary Professionals

Vet and vet tech pay and conditions are not keeping up with the growing demands for vet services. Vet professionals are looking to collective action through joining together in union to address the following workplace problems:

  • Long and inconsistent hours

  • Low or nonexistent hazard pay

  • Sub-par benefits

  • Inadequate pandemic safety practices

Unions have made a difference in a variety of industries and its time veterinary professionals join together in union to raise their workplace standards. You can learn more about the benefits and process of unionizing below as well as contact us to find out more about forming a union in your workplace.

Unions of professionals improve their workplaces

Professionals in the private sector are joining together and achieving tangible gains, including salary minimums, work-life balance, improved retirement contributions, and a voice in decisions that affect them. Learn more about professionals who’ve experienced the union difference:

  • At aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, thousands of professional and technical employees are union members, and have used their collective voice to advocate for regular and transparent wage increases, better healthcare benefits, and employer contributions to retirement plans. Union members at Lockheed Martin have also secured flexible work schedules to balance the needs of work and family.

  • From Vox.com to HuffPost to The Onion, digital journalists at online publications across the news industry have realized the benefits of forming unions. By using their collective voice journalists at Vox.com negotiated for a union contract that guarantees a minimum salary of $56,000, annual raises ranging from 2.75 to 3 percent, health insurance for part-time employees, and 16 weeks of paid parental leave. News professionals at The Intercept secured first-of-its kind diversity and inclusion provisions in their union contract, including requiring at least two candidates from underrepresented groups are interviewed when hiring.

  • Medical professionals like doctors, nurses, radiologic technologists, speech therapists, and many others have formed unions and gained a say in their work loads and other working conditions. Doctors at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart in Oregon negotiated to prevent outsourcing of jobs, to have input on decisions related to work loads, as well as for a raise. Nurses at Munson Medical Center in Michigan have used their union to limit forced overtime, address nurse staffing levels, and establish new safety procedures to increase the quality of patient care.

DPE has helped connect thousands of professionals with unions. These professionals knew they deserved a written contract - just like their CEOs have - that guarantees pay and benefits, defends employees interests, and can’t be changed without their approval. When professionals stand together to negotiate with their employers, they are winning fair pay, improved benefits, and a voice in decisions that affect them.

  • Phone, text message, email icon representing contacting a union

    Step 1: Contact an organizer

    A professional union organizer will be able to guide you through the union organizing process. Additionally, by organizing with an established union with staff, you will have the resources needed to support you and your coworkers throughout the organizing process.

  • Step 2: Build coworker support

    You will build support for your union by having conversations with your coworkers. Ask your coworkers about what improvements they would like to see in your workplace and how those improvements can be achieved with a union. Once there is a majority of interest in a union, you and your coworkers will sign confidential "authorization cards” to express your support for a union.

  • Box that says vote as an icon for a union election

    Step 3: Union recognition or election

    After you have a strong showing of support for your union through signed union authorization cards, you will either ask your employer for recognition of your union or file a petition for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. If your union files for an election, you will work with the NLRB and your employer to set the terms of the election. If your union receives 50% plus one support for your union from those who voted, you win your union.

  • People sitting at a table to symbolize union negotiations

    Step 4: Negotiate your union contract

    After your union is certified through an election or recognition, you and your co-workers will sit down with management and negotiate over your pay, benefits, and working conditions.

  • Union contract icon

    Step 5: Vote on your contract

    You and your co-workers will vote to approve the contract you negotiated with management.

Contact us

Professionals interested in learning more about unions should fill out the form below. DPE staff will connect you with a union in your area who can answer your questions and assist you with forming a union in your workplace.

We look forward to helping you start connecting with your coworkers about improving your pay, benefits, and working conditions.