Pay and benefits
Wages, health insurance, leave, bonuses, and retirement-related benefits may be subjects of bargaining.
Why organize?
A stronger voice is something we build together.
A union is workers choosing to act collectively about the decisions that shape their working lives.
What a union is
Workers choose a representative voice.
A union is an organization of workers acting together through representatives they choose. Collective bargaining gives that representative a structured way to negotiate with the employer over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
The process does not guarantee any particular proposal or outcome. Its central promise is that workers can set priorities, participate, and bargain collectively instead of facing workplace-wide questions only as individuals.
What bargaining can address
Workplace priorities are broader than one issue.
What is proposed and ultimately agreed is determined through bargaining. Common subjects include:
Time and working conditions
Hours, scheduling, safety practices, workload-related concerns, and other working conditions can be raised collectively.
Fair and dependable processes
Workers may seek clearer procedures involving discipline, discharge, grievances, seniority, discrimination, or harassment.
The same standard for workers
The work runs on contracts. Workers deserve one too.
Maximus operates through contracts with the VA and other organizations involved in delivering the program.
Those agreements put expectations, obligations, and protections in writing.
We are the workers who make that work possible. We perform the work, uphold the standards, and keep the system moving.
Workers deserve an agreement of our own—one that we negotiate together, approve together, and can enforce together.
Member democracy
The central point
Democratic control continues after the representation vote.
Members set priorities, guide bargaining, vote on tentative agreements, and enforce the contract together.
The bargaining team negotiates. The membership decides.
A union is not a separate organization acting on workers. It is the workers themselves, exercising a collective voice at every stage.
The VES Union Organizing Committee is drafting the constitution, bylaws, and bargaining procedures that would protect the membership’s authority. They are not yet fully implemented and will be finalized after the notice of intent is filed and served and the campaign formally begins.
Members set the mandate
Workers identify and rank bargaining priorities through conversations, surveys, meetings, and votes. The negotiating team begins with a mandate from the people who will live under the agreement.
Members direct their representatives
Member-chosen representatives do the detailed negotiating, report back, answer questions, and remain accountable to the bargaining unit. They do not become a substitute for it.
Members ratify—or reject—the contract
Every member covered by a proposed agreement should receive the tentative terms and an opportunity to vote. A yes vote ratifies it. A no vote sends the bargaining team back with a clear answer.
A bargaining committee can recommend an agreement. It cannot replace the membership.
How organizing can move forward
Five stages, led by workers.
Real campaigns are not identical, and legal details can change the path. This is a practical orientation—not a promise that every campaign follows a fixed script.
- 01
Listen and identify shared priorities
Start with one-on-one conversations. The point is not to pressure anyone; it is to understand what coworkers want to improve and where their experiences overlap.
- 02
Build worker organization and get experienced help
Workers develop a representative organizing committee and can seek guidance from experienced organizers and authoritative sources.
- 03
Demonstrate informed support
Authorization cards can show support for union representation. Read the card, ask questions, and decide voluntarily—an authorization card is not an election ballot.
- 04
Choose the appropriate recognition path
Depending on the facts, workers may seek voluntary recognition or petition for an NLRB election. The proposed bargaining unit and applicable rules matter.
- 05
Bargain—and bring the agreement back to members
After a union is recognized or certified, the union and employer have a duty to bargain in good faith. Members set the priorities, a member-accountable team negotiates, and any tentative agreement returns to the workers covered by it for review and a ratification vote.
Questions are part of the process
Separate sourced facts from predictions and pressure.
Organizing campaigns can generate confident claims from many directions. Ask what is supported by an official source, what is a prediction about the future, and what would actually be decided by workers through bargaining.
No one needs to accept a slogan in place of an answer. Read primary sources, compare claims, and take the time needed to make an informed decision.
Official guidance
Go to the source.
These NLRB and Labor Department pages explain representation, collective bargaining, and union-member rights.
Want to keep learning?
See what workers are asking for, then bring your difficult questions to the FAQ.