Community Catalyst’s First Collective Bargaining Agreement Demonstrates Organizations’ Commitment to Fostering a More Equitable and Inclusive Workplace 

(BOSTON, MA) – Unions make organizations stronger and Community Catalyst and Community Catalyst United (CCU) are proud to announce the end of negotiations and the ratification of an inaugural Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This is the first contract for Community Catalyst staff, who formed a union with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 888, and was voluntarily recognized by Community Catalyst in 2021. 

“Community Catalyst is stronger going forward because of this agreement. As an organization committed to advancing all people’s health and wellbeing, we have long valued and supported the critical role unions play in advancing health and economic justice in this country,” said Emily Stewart, executive director of Community Catalyst. “I am proud to lead an organization that values an inclusive and open work environment, and recognizes the important contributions of employees at all levels within the organization in supporting our mission to build a stronger, more united movement for health justice. We believe unions make all workplaces stronger, including ours, and we look forward to continued collaboration with Community Catalyst United in service of our shared goal of building a more equitable and inclusive workplace.”  

The three-year agreement makes meaningful investments in compensation, benefits, accommodations, and more. It deepens the organization’s commitment to fostering a more equitable and inclusive workplace. With ratification of the contract, Community Catalyst union employees have secured improvements in pay, paid time off, benefits, and more.  

Contract highlights include: 

• A guaranteed 100% payment of medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums for employees.
• A newly established $56,000 salary floor and commitment to a 3% annual increase for employees.
• Expanded family and medical leave, as well as wellness days and an annual weeklong office closure.
• Continued commitment to fostering a more equitable and inclusive workplace.

“CCU was formed out of a collective belief that building worker power creates a workplace grounded in equity and justice. We are proud to be part of a larger movement of unionized nonprofit workers and to join SEIU’s long history of embedding racial justice into labor organizing,“ said the Community Catalyst United Bargaining Committee in a collective statement. “This first contract represents years of solidarity among our members – current and former – and we are excited to celebrate the monumental shift this brings for our members and Community Catalyst. The annual salary increases and other benefits secured through negotiations not only help us afford the rising costs of food, housing, and childcare, but provide the basic support we need to continue fighting for health care as a right for all. As we close contract negotiations, we look forward to continued collaboration with management to evaluate staff workloads, create an equitable structure for raises and promotions, revisit shorter working hours, and ensure our organization’s internal practices match our commitment to health equity and racial justice. CCU believes that an organization is only as strong as its workers. We are proud to build a workplace that believes the same.”  

You can view the CBA agreement here.  

# # # 

About Community Catalyst: 

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at communitycatalyst.org. 

About Community Catalyst United:  
Community Catalyst United (CCU) unites the staff of Community Catalyst. As members of SEIU Local 888, we seek to provide staff at all levels a voice at Community Catalyst because we all should have a say in decisions that affect our work. Follow us on Twitter @CommCatUnited or visit http://linktr.ee/commcatunited.