Our members include architects, planners, accountants, auditors, computer programmers, engineers, chemists, inspectors, healthcare professionals, administrative employees, and other professionals employed by state and local governments. By joining together in union, they have a voice in their workplaces to solve problems and create well-run governments.
Union members have a say in the wages and benefits they receive. Our members have raised pay by securing significant annual wage increases and minimum salaries. For example, civil engineers working for Alameda County negotiated for a union contract that raises salaries by almost 18 percent over the term of the contract. Pay increases like these are known and predictable, and help ensure our members can afford to live in the communities they serve. By joining together in union, state and local government professionals also have better benefits, which include quality health insurance plans, retirement plans with larger employer contributions, more paid time off, and tuition reimbursement.
Our members use their skills and knowledge to maintain infrastructure, ensure well-run transit systems, and monitor quality control over the public water supply. They are experts in their fields and deserve respect for their high-quality work. By joining together in union, they have made sure their accomplishments are recognized. IFPTE members have also used their collective power to ensure their professional judgment and ethical codes are not compromised.
IFPTE members are the ones doing the work every day, and should be consulted on what is needed for a government that works for the public. Our members use their collective voices to advocate for policies and funding-levels that will allow them to better do their jobs and serve their communities. As union members, they have a say in creating more effective, efficient governments.
As a union of professionals employed by state and local governments, we understand the unique challenges faced by employees in these public sector workplaces. By joining together with us, you can improve your pay, benefits, and working conditions, as well as make workplace changes to ensure your government works effectively for the community it serves.
Fill out our contact form and IFPTE staff will reach out to you with more information about forming a union for government professionals.
A group of employees who come together to negotiate with their employer over their wages, benefits, and working conditions. The employees are the union—they democratically elect their coworkers who oversee their union’s affairs and conduct negotiations with their employer. Unlike associations, employees in unions have the legal right to negotiate collectively with their employers.
Collective bargaining is the formal process employees in unions and their employers use to negotiate the terms and conditions of work—including wages, benefits, and working conditions. Similar to the contracts CEOs have that guarantee their pay, benefits, and other conditions of employment, the terms agreed upon during collective bargaining are solidified in a contract called the collective bargaining agreement. Collective bargaining agreements are commonly referred to as union contracts.
