Since its unionization in late 2019, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank has seen several enhancements for its employees, such as a 3% annual pay increase, a floating holiday, and a boot stipend for warehouse workers. The food bank is one of few in the country to recognize a union, with 75% of staff voting to join the NY-based Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). These unionization efforts have increasingly gained popularity and the food bank’s experience could serve as a model for other nonprofits.

The Next Shift Campaign, an initiative of Closing the Hunger Gap, held an online forum where food bank employees shared the benefits of unionization. Next Shift holds the belief that addressing hunger effectively begins within the hunger relief sector itself, by offering living wages to employees thus allowing them to flourish. Other food banks across the country are also adopting this mindset, examples include the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Oregon Food Bank.

At the San Francisco Marin Food Bank, unionization has brought several positive changes, including a labor contract in September 2020 that guaranteed 3% wage increases, improved healthcare benefits, better phone reimbursements, and established procedures for grievances and terminations. Management has also voluntarily provided additional benefits, such as pay equity raises.

Union membership has made employees feel more capable of serving the community. For instance, they were able to work with managers to provide more culturally relevant food based on fieldwork observations. The union was conceived as a solution to mounting worker dissatisfaction due to managerial decisions made without employee input, leading to high turnover and low morale.

The union has fostered improved relations between staff and leadership, making workers feel more engaged, empowered, and heard. A food bank spokesperson confirmed leadership’s commitment to a positive working relationship with the union and their support for employees’ right to unionize.

Andom “Nati” Kahsay, an organizer at OPEIU, suggested that food bank employees wishing to form a union should identify pressing issues and past efforts made to resolve them. If issues persist, they should then find workplace leaders to help determine if a union is the right solution and begin building community support for the initiative.