Luke was out sick, so Audience Editor Valerie Osier joined Erin to talk about RANGE’s newest labor story: a timely expose on union-busting at the local Planned Parenthood affiliate. If you’re not a big fan of reading 4,000 word stories, but you want to know about the CEO’s crazy-high salary, the high cost of union-busting ($425 an hour) and the employees caught in the crossfire, listen now!

Editor's Note: The Faviola Lopez working at UFCW 3000 is actually a different Faviola Lopez than who worked at PPGWNI. Additionally, Paul Dillon was demoted from his role at PPGWNI shortly before going on parental leave, not after.

Hey, y'all it's Aaron.

2

For the last 10 days, I have

been frantically working on

3

a local labor rights story.

4

It's a doozy and I'm very proud

of it, but it's also 4,000 words.

5

And I know some of you prefer to

listen to your news, especially

6

when a story is that long.

7

So here's a quick summary and stick

around for the full episode to hear Val

8

ocher and I dive deep into this story.

9

And even some behind the scenes

details that didn't make the page.

10

Planned parenthood of greater Washington

and Northern Idaho has a long track record

11

of providing reproductive healthcare,

including abortions across our region

12

and reputation as fierce defenders of

bodily autonomy, and the right to choose.

13

In recent years though, the organization,

which is made up of 11 clinics located

14

mostly in Eastern and central Washington.

15

Has expanded its advocacy to include

local voter registration drives.

16

Know your rights trainings

for Latino farm workers.

17

And lobbying the state government to

raise the minimum wage, but last month,

18

executive leadership at planned parenthood

of greater Washington and Northern Idaho,

19

commonly abbreviated to PP Gwynnie.

20

Made it clear their advocacy for workers'

rights had limits in early November.

21

Carl Eastland, P P Glenys.

22

He's CEO.

23

Contracted with the labor relations

Institute, an organization that calls

24

itself one of the oldest labor relations

consultants in the country and has

25

been described as quote corporate

America's favorite union busting firm.

26

For over a year Eastlands

rank and file employees have

27

been organizing to unionize.

28

PP Gwynnie.

29

Eastland is paying LRI $425 an

hour to try to talk them out of it.

30

Range talk to six current and

former employees about their

31

experience at PP Gwynnie, some left

because of the working conditions.

32

Some have stayed and are

fighting to unionize.

33

One was a manager who wants their

staff to unionize, but is at odds

34

with the anti-union talking points.

35

They were supposed to spout to employees.

36

Anyways, it's a long

story, but it's a good one.

37

It's a necessary one about the

people in power pitting, reproductive

38

rights against labor rights, stay

tuned and we'll jump into it.

39

Alrighty folks, I'm Erin and you're

listening to KYRS Medical Lake Spokane.

40

This is Free Range, a co

production of KYRS and Range Media.

41

You might not recognize that voice.

42

This is our audience editor, Val

Ogier, who is stepping in today

43

because poor Luke is ill and I cannot

describe what kind of illness on the

44

air or we might get an FCC violation.

45

All right, so today we are going to

be talking about a couple things.

46

Namely I've been burning the midnight

oil for the last week on a labor

47

rights story that finally after Many

tears and tantrums and honestly, it

48

was a little bit like having a child.

49

I think I felt like I was in labor.

50

It went live today.

51

So we're gonna be filling you in on that

big ol story in case you're not somebody

52

who feels like reading 4, 400 words.

53

You should still try to

read the 4, 400 words.

54

You should still try to read the words.

55

This is true.

56

They're good words.

57

Okay, so Yeah, this is Valerie Osher

filling in for Luke Baumgarten.

58

B T W.

59

So, Erin, let's talk about your story.

60

First, I think let's start with

what set this whole story off?

61

Okay, there's two

answers to that question.

62

First ostensibly, the real answer is

that last week I'm off Twitter these

63

days, and I saw a A blue sky a blue sky,

I think they call them skeets a blue

64

sky post from a labor rights reporter

out in Florida who had dug up some

65

legal documents showing that it was

a disclosure report filed with the U.

66

S.

67

Department of Labor.

68

And she had tweeted that oh, Planned

Parenthood hired one of the nation's most

69

well known union busting firms, and I'm

looking at this and I'm like, wow, Planned

70

Parenthood, that's kind of disappointing.

71

And then I look at the legal

documents and I realize Oh, my

72

God, that's our Planned Parenthood.

73

That's the local Planned Parenthood.

74

And that's the Planned

Parenthood of Washington, D.

75

C.

76

Greater Washington and North Idaho.

77

There we go.

78

They call it p.

79

Gwinney.

80

Okay.

81

Is what you'll hear a lot of

the employees or people who

82

are familiar with it call it.

83

So this is what set off my sort

of week of frantic reporting.

84

I think the tweet, or the skeet,

sorry, was posted ten days ago.

85

I saw it two or three

days after it was posted.

86

It's literally been almost exactly a week

since I started working on this story.

87

But I'd heard about it.

88

Almost a year ago, I would say, I

was interviewing a local activist,

89

organizer advocacy professional

who was pitching me on a story

90

about hospital mergers and hospital

consolidation that I did end up writing.

91

It took quite a bit of research,

but it was a story about a bill

92

moving through the Washington state

legislature that that I ended up writing.

93

And as she was pitching me on this story,

she was like, Well, you know, I do have

94

another kind of healthcare related story.

95

I used to work at Planned Parenthood.

96

And she told me kind of the events that

led up to her leaving Planned Parenthood,

97

which were, you know, some poor working

conditions, and she was asked to take

98

on a supervisor's job duties while he

was on parental leave and was given

99

no extra pay for that, and that kind

of, it sounded like, burned her out,

100

ran her into the ground a little bit.

101

She started looking for other jobs.

102

She found something and she realized when

she got the job offer that Oh, I really

103

don't want to leave Planned Parenthood.

104

Like as much as I'm burned out

and not making enough money,

105

I love the other people here.

106

I love the mission.

107

So she came to Planned Parenthood

and was like, Hey, like I

108

got this other job offer.

109

Here's what they're offering me.

110

Could you match that or give me a raise?

111

And I'd love to stay.

112

And they just told her no.

113

And then, a little while later, and

she just told me this after the story

114

went up but they posted her job after

she left, at the same salary rate that

115

she was asking for, and got told no.

116

Oh, wow.

117

She was like, well, they

just didn't want me.

118

But anyway, so a year ago she tells

me this and she's you know, there's

119

a lot more where that came from.

120

There's a lot of people who

had similar experiences to me.

121

There's been a lot of rumblings around.

122

About a year ago.

123

I also know, or this summer I also met

some friends who one friend used to

124

work for the Planned Parenthood, the

local one, and she had quit to work.

125

At a grocery store and

where she makes more money.

126

She makes more money.

127

She wasn't a medical professional, but she

was like, I think an admin or something.

128

And then she had another friend

who also had a similar experience.

129

And so we had been hearing about this

for a while, but what I mean, obviously

130

the, these the paperwork that was

filed with the federal Organization,

131

the federal government kicked off this

story, but what was holding you back

132

from reporting this say a year ago

when you first heard it was sourcing.

133

So I had this one gal who would have

gone on the record probably, but if

134

you just have one person's story about

a bad workplace environment, it can

135

read just Oh, disgruntled employees,

mad that they didn't get more money.

136

So they go to the press and It didn't

feel like that's all that story was to me.

137

It felt like there was more

of a, like a culture issue.

138

More of a bigger story there.

139

And she, I had mentioned that

I was interested in it, if

140

she could find anybody else

who was willing to talk to me.

141

And I know that you actually asked

your friend right around, like when

142

you heard about the story, asked

her if she'd want to talk to us.

143

And everybody back then was just, it

seemed, A little scared a little bit

144

like they might be risking retaliation,

even if they were out of the industry

145

and like working at a grocery store.

146

Or they still worked at the place

and wanted to keep their jobs.

147

And so I just, I could never nail down

enough sources to tell a story that

148

wasn't just one person's bad experience.

149

When this, when these documents

dropped, I sent them to somebody

150

else who I knew had worked at

Planned Parenthood besides this gal.

151

And I was like, hey, did you see this?

152

Obviously unionizing must be

happening because they're now paying

153

a union busting firm 425 an hour

to come in and try to preemptively

154

convince employees not to unionize.

155

And he was like, oh my God,

no, I hadn't seen this.

156

Let me send this to everybody

I know who used to work there.

157

And I think these documents sort of got

spread around he sent them to people,

158

I'm sure the people he sent them to

people who either currently or formerly

159

work there, and I was like, look, I want

this story see if any of these people

160

who are angry about these documents,

I mean, to find out that information.

161

You're asking for a raise or you're

asking for better working conditions.

162

And real quick, like how there was

a number mentioned for, I think one

163

of the medical assistants, how much

were they making an hour for context?

164

Yes.

165

So they have a salary band system.

166

I was never able to figure out like

nobody from Planned Parenthood would

167

ever tell me like exactly what that

was, but the bands that like medical

168

assistants, front desk staff would make

healthcare assistants, they call them.

169

Was between 17 and 25 an hour and

that could be determined by like your

170

experience coming in or like how long

you've been there, whether or not you've

171

gotten cost of living raises from them.

172

But that range meant that

like they were paying.

173

For the equivalent of 17 to 25 medical

assistants per hour for one hour of

174

Union busting contracting it's quite an

investment and I think That number that

175

like kind of starkness and there wasn't a

lot of detail in this labor disclosure Was

176

pretty much just like here's the contract.

177

Here's what it's for.

178

Here's the rate you're getting

paid But I think that was enough

179

to sort of set off a spark.

180

And people started actually being

willing to go on the record and

181

talk to me about their experiences.

182

Yeah, I think a lot of I guess

regular folks don't know this, you

183

know, about the process of reporting.

184

You know, we, you know, Sometimes we

hear about things that are happening

185

and you know, people are coming up with,

are coming to us with very credible and

186

stories that we want to report about.

187

We need to report about in order to,

you know, bring light to these issues.

188

But the thing that will sometimes shake

that story loose is a document dropping

189

because that document is, you know,

infallible proof, but it's concrete proof

190

of what these people are experiencing.

191

And so that happens often where

something not often, but that is

192

usually how a story gets shaken

loose from being on hold for a while.

193

So for this For this document What did it,

is it a disclosure of just saying, like,

194

Why does the government have to see this?

195

Or why did Planned Parenthood

have to file this document?

196

Yeah, I'm actually not 100 percent sure.

197

I mean, they are, like,

Non profit, I think.

198

And they They, you know, they have

990 forms that they have to file.

199

They have to, you can view a lot

of their financial information.

200

I'm actually not sure why these

contracts get filed with the Labor

201

Department, but I do know that

it's like a pretty Standard thing.

202

We discovered during the process of

reporting this newsletter that goes out

203

that's like the union busting newsletter

and every time a document like this

204

gets filed that's like a disclosure of a

contract with a union busting or like they

205

might call it like a union avoidance firm.

206

Or a labor relations firm.

207

They've got all of these lovely

little euphemisms for it, but when

208

these contracts get filed this

newsletter like collates them and

209

sends them out to you and it's oh,

union busting activities in Minnesota.

210

So, you know, maybe I'll

get more tips this way.

211

And I think that is how the original

reporter had found the documents

212

is through that news newsletter.

213

So I guess the long answer is that I'm

not actually sure why they're required

214

to file them, but they are it's like a

agreement and activities report This one

215

was for The services provided by the Labor

Relations Institute, but their consulting

216

arm, so Labor Relations, LRI Consulting,

was to persuade employees to exercise, or

217

not to exercise, or persuade employees as

to the manner of exercising the right to

218

organize and bargain collectively through

representation of their own choosing.

219

Which is very strange, sort of,

Euphemistic nothing burger language,

220

but then you scroll through like this

company's website and they were known

221

as Like the nation's oldest or corporate

America's favorite union busting firm

222

They're one of the oldest labor relations

consultants They used to do this thing

223

where if you paid them a flat 50, 000

They would guarantee that your workplace

224

would not unionize your money back should

225

.

Okay, never mind.

226

No, I'm like, cause, I mean, we're

worker owned, so we wouldn't unionize.

227

Yeah, we own ourselves.

228

I mean, like, how can we game that system?

229

And their website has some, Kind

of hilarious materials on it for an

230

organization that's kind of trying

to present this neutral front.

231

It's Oh, stop wondering.

232

Are we going to make it through this?

233

We can help you turn my employees

don't trust me into my employees don't

234

trust the union's empty promises.

235

Oh, wow.

236

Yeah, they also, and this was interesting,

because when I called Planned Parenthood

237

and the CEO like a couple times to

give them a chance to comment on this,

238

and finally I just started emailing

their communications department, called

239

their communi like And I got this

very boilerplate response back that

240

basically boiled down to Oh, we're

preparing for a hostile administration.

241

The, oh, from Planned Parenthood.

242

Planned Parenthood is preparing for

a hostile national administration.

243

Yes, so I can read you the statement.

244

It said Sorry, it said Okay.

245

At p.

246

Gwinney, we're proud to pay our

employees competitive wages and benefits

247

that are consistently above market.

248

Our staff have received raises and bonuses

each year for the past seven years.

249

The employee turnover at p.

250

Gwinney is exceptionally low,

especially when compared to

251

other healthcare organizations.

252

We also believe every employee

has the right to decide whether or

253

not to be represented by a union.

254

We believe employees have a right

to make informed decisions when

255

independently considering contractual

agreements that could have an

256

impact on their work environment.

257

As we prepare to face a hostile

258

many daunting challenges ahead.

259

We are focused on being there for our

communities in Central and Eastern

260

Washington and keeping clinics open

so we can best serve people that rely

261

on Planned Parenthood for vital care.

262

And so that's what they're telling me.

263

And then you turn around and

you look at what LRI, this

264

company that they're paying for.

265

425 an hour or two is posting and

it's like LinkedIn posts about

266

how, you know, employers shouldn't

clutch their pearls about new union

267

regulations because with the Republican

presidency many pro union rulings like

268

these and others will be reversed.

269

And oh, you know, there's no

rest for the weary when unions

270

have their foot in the door.

271

You know, all this stuff that's

with Donald Trump headed back to the

272

White House, expect major shifts at

the National Labor Relations Board.

273

All this stuff that seems Counter to

Planned Parenthood's mission and values.

274

Yeah, and I found that to be another

wrinkle of this story that was maybe

275

a little harder to pin down, but just

the amount of hypocrisy, their CEO was

276

sending emails out to all the staff

being like, I believe in your right to

277

choose, and that's what he's putting

out to staff, is do what you want,

278

I support you, and then he's turning

around and paying the hourly wage of

279

17 medical assistants to try to get

somebody to convince them not to unionize.

280

Yeah.

281

I mean, so let's talk about the CEO.

282

Cause I think that was

one of the most egregious.

283

One of the things that, you know, made

my blood boil while reading the story was

284

how much the CEO is being paid compared to

the regular workers who are doing the work

285

every day, but also in comparison to the

head medical person of Planned Parenthood,

286

who is a medical doctor, a woman Yeah.

287

So can you talk a little bit about

of what the CEO's pay started as?

288

When did he start?

289

Actually, what's his name real quick.

290

Okay.

291

His name is Carl Eastland.

292

Okay.

293

And he started, I want to

294

I mostly looked at the last five years

because that's when you started to

295

see big shifts in people's salaries

before it just seemed to be like

296

You know, like little raises Oh,

you went from 160, 000 to 165, 000.

297

Like nothing that would be incredibly

egregious or spark my attention.

298

And then that is.

299

That's a normal ish salary for a CEO.

300

CEOs get paid a lot.

301

And to be fair to this guy, like

when we talk about the local

302

Planned Parenthood, we're not just

talking about the clinic in Spokane.

303

This is like an affiliate.

304

So it's kind of a bundle of

Planned Parenthood clinics.

305

There's 11 of them, and they're spread.

306

There's one in Yakima, I think.

307

Ellensburg, Pullman Spokane Valley.

308

It's 11 clinics that are east of Seattle.

309

So, so it's not that he's just

getting paid to manage one clinic.

310

And I do want to be fair

to him on that front.

311

But I was really struck, there

was this woman who talked to me,

312

she's still an employee there, so

I had to use a pseudonym for her.

313

When she started, she made 19 an hour

she ended up getting a cost of living

314

adjustment raise, and she now makes

a couple more dollars an hour, so she

315

went from 19 to something like 22, 23.

316

That same year, the CEO, Carl Eastland,

tells the Sightline Institute that

317

Without additional funding, the

organization might be forced to reduce

318

preventative care, primary care, and

mental health services in order to meet

319

the urgent need for abortion health care.

320

Within the year though, between 2022

and when they did their financial

321

reporting in 2023, Eastland's

pay had jumped by 100, 000.

322

And this was sort of the end of a

series of increases that saw his

323

compensation double between 2019 and 2023.

324

So as this like rank and

file employee is Oh yay!

325

I get an extra 3 an hour!

326

This guy is now making double

327

Double.

328

What's that final number

when it's doubled?

329

Yes, his final number, and this was

330

what he's making this year because I'm

pulling a lot of these numbers from

331

their 990 tax filings, but at the end

of last year he was making 460, 000.

332

He also got other compensation at 29, 000.

333

We were unsure if that was Benefits,

bonuses, or some combination of both.

334

So he, with that 29, 000, he

made almost 500, 000 last year.

335

And another thing happened during

this time As he mentioned to

336

Sightline Institute they did

cut a lot of their services.

337

So what one was like a

mobile clinic, is that right?

338

Yes.

339

So this is kind of when I

came across this story, right?

340

So we'll say her name.

341

She was a name source in the

story, Sarah Dixit, who is now an

342

organizer for Pro Choice Washington.

343

She had been like, In charge of helping

set up these mobile clinics, they were

344

called RAIS, and they took clinics

out into farm workers, like they took

345

them to farms, and they helped connect

migrant farm workers with medical care.

346

They had folks who could speak

Spanish go out with them.

347

They did all of this outreach where it

wasn't just Oh, we'll come treat your boo

348

and leave it was also like we will treat

you for what you need and we will start

349

like Establishing connections with you.

350

Do you need access to other services?

351

Do you need to be connected to other

people like primary care or like

352

Immigration services they had all of

these resources that they were going

353

out into the community and connecting

people with Meeting them where they

354

were at In a way that maybe these

folks would not have felt like care

355

was accessible to them, especially

like working in rural farmlands.

356

It was an amazing program,

and it just sort of like

357

quietly first got cut way back.

358

So they cut it back and they were

like, it costs too much to send

359

providers out because to be fair, while

medical assistants were making like

360

17 to 25 dollars an hour, They do pay

really well for medical clinicians.

361

So this is like somebody

who's a doctor, a physician.

362

They pay between 60 and 80 an hour.

363

Oh, okay.

364

Sorry.

365

Which is, I've been told, the

equivalent, one of the sources I talked

366

to called it like golden handcuffs.

367

Okay.

368

But that's expensive, right?

369

You send somebody out who's making

80 an hour for a full 12 hour

370

day, that costs a lot of money.

371

So instead of sending the clinicians out,

they were just sending some of the folks

372

from the public affairs team, which Sarah

Dixit was on, to just go do Oh, God.

373

Connections, and talk to people, and

you know, build community, but not

374

actually providing medical services.

375

So maybe you can help connect them

to other resources, but you're

376

not coming out with a doctor

and giving them what they need.

377

And so that kind of quietly got

scaled back to just this community

378

connection thing, and then died.

379

When did it get scaled back, do you know?

380

I want to say it was either 2022 when

381

or it got scaled back over the summer of

382

saying it out loud, that sounds correct.

383

I think the summer of 2023 was

when they were like just doing, you

384

know, community connection events.

385

And then this summer, it

just didn't come back.

386

And in that time, the CEO's salary.

387

Yeah, was rose a lot.

388

Okay.

389

And ostensibly his salary probably

390

2024 if it's following the pattern

of the last couple of years.

391

And so like Sarah Dixit was pretty

frustrated both with that and she was a,

392

at the time she was doing like advocacy.

393

So she was going to state legislatures

both in Washington and Idaho and

394

she was doing know your rights

trainings for people who might.

395

And she was doing voter drives.

396

And was she doing this as

a representative, as part

397

of Planned Parenthood?

398

As part of her role at Planned Parenthood.

399

And I got hold of a document Again,

this morning, so I didn't actually

400

get to include it in the story

because it, you know, when we publish

401

something, it's usually after it's

been through multiple rounds of edits.

402

So it was too late to include this,

but I got ahold of a document from a

403

presentation given to this public affairs

team that stated that they needed to

404

refocus on communities with the greatest

potential impact for voter mobilization.

405

So basically.

406

Stop spending so much time with

people who are undocumented, spend

407

your time with people who can vote.

408

Wow.

409

But the phrasing they used was,

Grants and priority of mobile

410

migrant outreach changing.

411

Need to phase out and pivot to other work.

412

Mobile clinics not coming back.

413

Rais needs to refocus on

communities with greatest potential

414

impact for voter mobilization.

415

And Dixit had A problem with that,

and I think was feeling, you know,

416

unfulfilled in her work, and right

around the same time, everybody, so

417

Dixit leaves, turns in her resignation,

and within a week, everybody else on

418

this public affairs team was demoted.

419

Wow.

420

So, they were demoted from One was

public affairs manager titles and then

421

they get demoted down to just organizer.

422

It did not come with a pay cut.

423

So I do want to clarify that their pay

wasn't cut, but they did lose a title

424

that they had held and I think felt a

lot of significant loss around what this

425

program was and what it was turning into.

426

And also I think, I'm just surmising

here, but it probably would be

427

really hard and all of these are

people are women of color, right?

428

And they're being told like don't go

out and serve this community because

429

they can't vote in the 2024 election.

430

And that's so interesting.

431

Recently I spoke I was at a conference

with a bunch of nonprofits and I

432

spoke to a woman who her nonprofit

is specifically geared towards

433

Latina like mobilizing Latinas,

Latina women and Latinos in general.

434

And she said We got more turnout and we

were able to flip our district because we

435

mobilized the Latino population, whether

or not they are like, like obviously

436

like undocumented people weren't voting,

but they're still part of a community

437

and that community, like activating

that community can be powerful in the

438

interest you know, in voting for workers

interests, immigrant interests I worked

439

on a story earlier this year around what

do Latina voters want in this election,

440

and one of the folks I talked to was

undocumented, but they were doing a

441

ton of work in their social circles and

familial structures because they had a

442

sibling who was documented and of age to

vote, to be like, hey I can't do this for

443

myself if you love me and care about me.

444

Please do your civic duty and think about

people like me when you're doing it.

445

Right.

446

So, yeah, it kind of feels like by

throwing out this program the RISE

447

program, they're kind of just throwing

out the baby with the bathwater and

448

continuing Throwing out the baby with the

bathwater might be an insensitive decision

449

to make about a Planned Parenthood story.

450

Whoops.

451

Well, the other interesting thing,

so they both get demoted and I

452

think I wasn't able to interview

either of these women for my story.

453

Both of them one of them just didn't

respond to my calls and one of them

454

gave me a no comment, but I have in

documents like what their names are.

455

One of them is city council member

Lily Navarrete and the other is

456

Fabiola Lopez who they both end up

leaving Planned Parenthood, right?

457

She's appointed to council.

458

Fabiola now works for UFCW 3000, which is

the union organizing Planned Parenthood.

459

She works in their like grocery store

division because they are also the

460

union for like grocery store workers.

461

So I don't think she's like

directly touching this.

462

I don't know.

463

I wasn't able to get ahold of her.

464

Actually the union itself and like

the six different people at the

465

union that I called all no commented

me or just didn't call me back.

466

But I did find that pretty interesting

that you have this like Tight knit unit.

467

And another thing that I wasn't

actually able to put in this story is

468

that like Mackenzie Scott Jeff Bezos's

ex wife She's a philanthropist too.

469

She is and she gave the local

PP Gwinney 12 million dollars.

470

She did not really make it clear what

exactly she was giving them that money

471

for but she gave them that money after

a representative from her foundation

472

was at an event where The folks

from the RAIS program were talking

473

about the success of their program.

474

So it's not something

that I can ever prove.

475

It's not something I can

put in a reported story.

476

But one thing that I heard

from Sarah Dixit was that It

477

felt like we did all this work.

478

It was really impactful work.

479

We all really liked doing it And we got

you know statewide recognition for that.

480

There's a photo of sarah and lily

navarette with Governor insley, and

481

at these like events where they were

presenting about the amazing work They

482

were doing a representation from the

scott foundation sees them there and

483

then Shortly after planned parenthood

gets 12 million dollars you know And

484

then, the Rais program quietly dies.

485

Off topic how do I get an audience

with the Scott Foundation?

486

Yeah, I don't know, if you are a listener

out here who knows how to put Val

487

Osher in contact with Mackenzie Scott.

488

No, I'm kidding, I can't

tell you to do anything.

489

Oh, mackenzie, if you're out there.

490

Mackenzie, call me.

491

Call me.

492

She is single, right?

493

She might be married, actually.

494

Oh, I don't know.

495

So, I think another thing, an interesting

thing piece of context is that during

496

this time where this 2019 to 2023 portion

of time where the COVID 19 You know,

497

they're kind of cutting down on services.

498

The CEO is making more money.

499

And There were, there

was another pay raise.

500

So originally Denise, I'm

sorry, how do you spell it?

501

I think it's Bayoussic.

502

Bayoussic, Denise Bayoussic.

503

I'm just taking my best

crack at that though.

504

So if I'm wrong, I'm so sorry.

505

She's Planned Parenthood's

chief medical officer.

506

And at first in 2019, she made

the most, according to the

507

organization, organization's

tax filing, which was 275, 000.

508

And that was more than the CEO.

509

So, But then, by 2020, the

CEO was making 363, 000.

510

And her salary has stayed, she's

gotten raises, but small ones.

511

Oh, I mean, it looks like,

yeah I'm looking at this line.

512

As of 2023 Carl Eastland, the CEO, makes

460, 000, and Biasik, who is in charge

513

of she's the chief medical officer, so if

we're saying oh, we're locking down all

514

of these other services, it is, and more.

515

Only thinking about providing

abortions and healthcare,

516

like we're refocusing on this.

517

She makes over 100, 000

less than him at 312, 000.

518

Wow.

519

And she's, you know, the one

overseeing like all of the medical

520

operations of these 11 clinics.

521

Yeah, I mean like how, so you described

earlier about the clinicians kind of

522

having golden handcuffs, like they

are well compensated for their work.

523

What do you think is behind underpaying?

524

You know, the support staff

and that kind of thing.

525

Yeah.

526

I mean, so medical assistants

aren't super well paid anywhere.

527

That's fair that you don't have

to like, I don't think you have

528

to, I think it's a certification.

529

You don't have to do the whole, you

know, eight year med school thing.

530

But, like, when I compared plan, and

I know they told me in their statement

531

oh, you know, our salaries are better

than the areas, but I looked up

532

just oh, medical assistant jobs in

Spokane or medical assistant jobs

533

in Yakima, and most of the medical

assistant jobs that I saw posted paid.

534

A, not much more, but like a dollar

or two more as the starting wage,

535

and then like a dollar or two

more at the like high end cap.

536

So like the scale, like Planned

Parenthood was at the lower end of that.

537

And I think that, There are more

people available who are qualified to

538

be a medical assistant than there are

who are qualified to be clinicians.

539

And I think there's this, I mean what

we ended up titling my story after a

540

little bit of push pull, sorry Val It

was like the mission doesn't pay the

541

bills, and I think there's this idea

behind the scenes in, I interviewed six

542

current and former employees who, some

off the record, some on the record, but

543

one thing that almost all of them had

in common was that they were like, this

544

was my dream job I Really believe in the

work that Planned Parenthood is doing.

545

I really want to help people get access

to affordable health care I really want

546

to help protect people's right to choose

I love that like Planned Parenthood

547

is a place that serves people of all

genders like I love that they do not

548

discriminate based off of sexuality

or gender and They really believed

549

in the work that they were doing and

they really loved their co workers And

550

I think that it's, I mean, that's a

little bit like every nonprofit, right?

551

Like they rely on you buying into the

mission and once you care Then that

552

makes you a little bit easier to exploit

if you're like I am You know i'm saving

553

the world out here And yeah Maybe the

place I work doesn't have money to paint

554

what I deserve, but I feel like I'm

really making the world a better place.

555

I'm having a positive

impact in people's lives.

556

Like I would also be willing to

take a little bit of a pay cut.

557

And I think just starting to see

Oh, I'm, you know, I'm accepting

558

a little bit of a pay cut.

559

And a lot of these people told me

that they turn around and every

560

month they donate a portion of their

paycheck back to Planned Parenthood.

561

And of course, yeah, that's like a little

bit of a tax write off or whatever.

562

Yeah.

563

But they're like, yeah, I like,

not only am I getting underpaid,

564

but I'm also donating my labor

back to this place that I work.

565

And I think seeing some of the

numbers laid out, okay, I'm willing

566

to do this, and my boss is paying

425 an hour to a union busting firm.

567

My boss has doubled his salary since 2019.

568

My boss got a 100, 000 raise last year.

569

And here I am, like, putting

my blood, sweat, tears, heart,

570

and soul into this place.

571

And interfacing with the people who are

most impacted by this and who are going

572

through Traumatic things or like even

normal life, but like they're doing the

573

work and they're exposed to all of that.

574

Heartache, and you

know, that, that stress.

575

Carl Eastland is not giving pap

smears or providing abortion services.

576

And yes, his name is attached.

577

He's the only name listed on their

leadership page with the picture attached

578

because there is an inherent risk that

comes with working at Planned Parenthood.

579

And that comes with being a

leader at Planned Parenthood.

580

And again, I really want

to be fair to this guy.

581

His picture and name is what is

attached to Planned Parenthood Gwynny.

582

However.

583

Clinicians and medical assistants are

also dealing with a very real fear.

584

Let's say you, you know, you've worked

at Planned Parenthood for five years.

585

Your partner gets a job.

586

It's across the border in Idaho.

587

So you're like, well, you've

got a great opportunity.

588

Let's pack up and move

our family to Idaho.

589

You get over there and you go to look

for a medical job and you might get

590

rejected for jobs because they see that

you were providing abortions across

591

the border, which is Illegal in Idaho.

592

It's does that make you unhirable?

593

People are now worrying that oh if I

provide a service To somebody within

594

Washington where I live where I work where

it's legal But then that person turns out

595

to be like a resident of Texas or Idaho.

596

Am I gonna get sued or extradited or Like

in trouble and that risk and burden is

597

mostly being shouldered by clinicians

and medical assistants and people who are

598

actually like providing these services.

599

And who are the least paid.

600

The least paid, the most vulnerable.

601

I I wanted to pull out this

quote that really I think

602

sums up the story very well.

603

It's from from a woman named Laura.

604

She said, It does no service to

the reproductive health movement

605

to chew up and spit out workers.

606

She described her former co workers at P.

607

P.

608

Guiney as lovely mission driven

people and the administration as,

609

quote, a bunch of evil hyenas.

610

And I know that last part

was your favorite part.

611

But I, I think the first part

is really important because

612

there is a very real threat to

reproductive health rights in the U.

613

S., specifically with the next

administration coming in and seeing,

614

you know, the, there's a threat from

the outside, but there's also the

615

threat from the inside, and if we're

not treating our workers right in any

616

case, in any place it really dampens

the values and mission that you espouse.

617

Yeah, it just rankled me to see their

statement like pitting reproductive rights

618

against workers rights of like we're not

thinking about that We're thinking about

619

the challenges of the administration

It's like how are you going to face the

620

challenges of the next administration?

621

If your employees are wildly

unhappy like one person Overworked

622

underpaid understaffed, right?

623

and so I guess like I guess I'm

asking you to put on a little bit of

624

a speculative hat, but like how does

Planned Parenthood move forward from this?

625

I mean, obviously this story, we

just published it this morning.

626

You know, nothing's exploding

yet, but what do they do to regain

627

people's trust, their workers trust

and their, the public's trust?

628

You know, I don't know, but I can

tell you what's not going to gain your

629

workers trust, and it is Hiring union

busting firms to come in and give

630

them informational sessions that they

are told they're supposed to attend.

631

Or directing them to an in house

website that you've created just

632

to inform them about unions.

633

Where you know, list questions commonly

asked questions that are, like,

634

Oh, can the union come to my house

or my family's house and find me?

635

Yeah, the direct quote was, Can the union

organizers come to my home, my family's

636

home, or other places and find me?

637

I signed a union authorization

card, but I changed my mind.

638

Can I get it back?

639

Like this is the non bias information.

640

And to be honest, and like this was

maybe the harshest line in my story.

641

But as I was writing it, I was struck

by this idea that like the way Planned

642

Parenthood was approaching The issue

of are my employees going to unionize?

643

Do they want to unionize?

644

It just reminded me of how these crisis

pregnancy centers handle people who are

645

wondering what to do about a pregnancy.

646

And they, you know, they come at

you with all of this one sided

647

information that's designed to

scare you into, you know, Scary, or

648

it's very carrot stick, you know?

649

Oh if you have this child, here's

all of the wonderful things

650

that will happen in your life.

651

And if you don't have this child, or

if you have an abortion, here's all

652

of the really scary health risks.

653

And they're, like, posing as a place

that helps you with your right to choose.

654

And what they're doing is they're

force feeding you one sided

655

information full of scare tactics.

656

And to me, It just struck me

that is so similar to what PP

657

Gwinney is doing with unionizing.

658

They're like, we support you

and your right to choose.

659

Here's all of this information so you can

be informed about the choices you make.

660

And then the information they're providing

them is like extremely one sided and

661

oh, union dues can get really high.

662

And oh, if you are in a union,

it'll all come down to seniority,

663

not merit or talent or other

factors as to when you get raises.

664

And.

665

I don't know, it just disappointed me.

666

And I

667

Am slash used to be a patient of Planned

Parenthood like not to overshare on

668

the airwaves But I got my IUD in there

like when I was in college, and I just

669

lived in Washington I didn't know where

to get health care and I lived near

670

one of the health centers at the time

and I was like You know, everything

671

I've heard is that these places are

welcoming and safe for queer people.

672

So if I just show up and ask about

health care if they can't help

673

me, they'll probably be able to

help me find somewhere that can.

674

And to find out that my very lovely

clinicians and medical assistants and

675

front desk staff that helped me and

treated me with grace and made what

676

I get really stressed out in doctors

offices or in hospitals and they made

677

the experience a lot safer and more

welcoming to, for me, and to find out the,

678

what they're having to deal with behind

the scenes was pretty heartbreaking.

679

So I don't really know where they

go from here, it's not there are so

680

many things I could say and can't

say, or shouldn't say, but I get it.

681

I feel like it's pretty fair to say

that paying for union busting firms

682

to come in and speak to your employees

is maybe not how you rebuild trust.

683

Yeah.

684

So just to review for anybody who's

just joining us we are talking about

685

Aaron's latest story about employees at

the local plant or the regional Planned

686

Parenthood organization are considering

unionization over what they characterize

687

as low pay and bad working conditions.

688

But the CEO of Planned Parenthood.

689

The regional Planned Parenthood

is paying a union vesting firm the

690

equivalent of 17 medical assistance's

hourly wages to persuade them not to.

691

I actually just got a text from

one of the employees I interviewed.

692

I used I used them anonymously because

they were a big part of, they are

693

a big part of unionization efforts.

694

there and, you know, publishing

their name could lead to very clear

695

Oh, you're unionizing, get fired.

696

Yeah.

697

Even though that is illegal, correct.

698

Yes, but it's not illegal to fire

somebody for a different reason that you

699

just so happen to come up with at the

same time that they spoke to the press

700

and they just texted me and said that

they'd shared the story in the unionizing

701

Discord and that workers are feeling

very empowered after reading exclamation

702

point which it's always good to hear

considering that I haven't slept and

703

I'm full of stress about this but Yeah,

You I can vouch for Erin that Erin has

704

been very stressed about this story.

705

What Val's saying is that I've

been cranky and snappy, but

706

she's very diplomatic about it.

707

You've been doing great, Erin.

708

I almost bit her head off this morning.

709

I was getting my hair dyed and I was

supposed to have the morning off and

710

Val's Sending me all these questions

about the story, and I'm like, I've

711

already discussed that with Luke.

712

I've already discussed

that with the other editor.

713

Post the story, please!

714

But, you know, it's better for all

of the eyes that have been on it.

715

Yeah, and Yeah, speaking of eyes,

um, I, let's talk about how we

716

went about reporting and editing

this story because you are friends.

717

Yes.

718

With one of your sources.

719

Sarah Dixon.

720

And I, what's interesting with the

story is that we weren't friends

721

when this story got pitched to me.

722

Yeah.

723

It was, like, our first

or second time meeting.

724

I was talking to them as a

journalist about another story

725

when they pitched me on this.

726

Over the course of the last year, I

think a friendly source journalist

727

relationship has evolved into something

that's more of a friendship which,

728

you know, could be something at a

mainstream news outlet where that

729

disqualifies you from writing the story.

730

For us, we talk a lot about community

journalism, and what it means to be in and

731

part of community, as much as we want to

distance ourselves from things and claim

732

I'm above it all, I'm not biased that's

just probably not the truth for anybody.

733

You live in your community, you

know people, you are a person

734

with opinions and feelings.

735

And part of the reason that We got this

story, and got the sources for this story,

736

are because I built trust with people.

737

Over a long span of time.

738

Over a long span of time.

739

And eventually that trust with Sarah,

I would say, turned into a friendship.

740

We hang out outside of work stuff.

741

We talk about things that

are not reproductive rights.

742

But also, In our minds, we had a

pretty big conversation about that.

743

That shouldn't necessarily mean that

I don't get to report the story.

744

It might actually mean that I am the

best person to report the story because

745

people trust me enough to talk to me

about these vulnerable, risky things.

746

And so what we ended up deciding to do to

kind of mitigate that risk of potential

747

bias was to We did our traditional in

house edit with one of our editors on

748

staff, and then on the advice of our

community advisory board, which includes

749

nationally recognized journalism folks,

like Lisa Hayamoto and Ryan Pitts.

750

Who are Spokane people.

751

Spokane people, and

nationally recognized people.

752

We love How good Spokane's media

landscape is, but they advised

753

that we hire an editor that was

completely separate from range.

754

So, we have a freelance editor

named Zach, who we work with for

755

stories quite often, who knows us all

pretty well but our advisory board

756

recommended we work with somebody new.

757

Somebody preferably from mainstream

journalism, who has kind of a

758

cold, hard eye for bias in news.

759

So, we ended up hiring Addy Hatch, who is

an old spokesman reporter, to come in and

760

do the final read and edit on the story.

761

Just to, A, do a good content edit.

762

Do my sentences make sense?

763

Did Luke get all of the grammar

mistakes on his first edit?

764

No, he did not.

765

No, he did not.

766

He is So good at helping me make my

sentences sound beautiful and so bad

767

at helping me figure out when I have

too many commas in the sentence.

768

And then Addie also was reading

for like potential incidences of

769

bias or like how to make sure, you

know, everything was fair and legal

770

and like cold enough in places.

771

Like just doing a double gut check.

772

Yeah.

773

And that's like kind of part of

our whole thing at range is that

774

we are part of the community and

we have a sticker that we sell.

775

And it's, it says, Community is my bias.

776

And that's not like our

official tagline or anything.

777

Our official tagline is

press for the people.

778

It, or that's our official unofficial one.

779

I don't know.

780

I think it's on our website.

781

I think it can be official.

782

But community is our bias.

783

And then that is not just like

a cute little catchphrase.

784

It's saying We're not going to

pretend that something that is

785

bad for our community is neutral.

786

And we're not going to

pretend that something good

787

for our community is neutral.

788

I think, it's oh, the grocery

store down the street burned down.

789

We don't have to go talk to people who

might think that it's a really good

790

thing that the grocery store burned down.

791

Or, which isn't a really extreme example.

792

But I think sometimes, Well, I think

the most extreme example is I had

793

a journalism professor, a very long

time ago say something that has

794

always stuck with me that you're

not going to say that rape is good.

795

As a journalist, like that's

not, You're not going to go find

796

somebody to interview who thinks

that actually this is good, really.

797

Yeah.

798

And that and that attitude of both sides

ism and like the theory of objectivity

799

in journalism comes from The point

of view of cisgender white men and

800

and so like the view from nowhere.

801

Yeah, it's like My point of view is so

unbiased and so distant that anything

802

I write will be like objective and

oh If you're trans you can't write

803

stories about trans people because

you're gonna be biased and it's

804

Are you somebody who owns stocks?

805

Because if you're somebody who owns

stocks, are you ever allowed to

806

write about the financial market?

807

Or, if you're, like, a straight

white guy, are you ever allowed to

808

write about other straight white men?

809

Or the issues that face them?

810

Can you write about any

heterosexual people?

811

Yeah, and it's the standard that I feel

like really gets unjustly enforced against

812

women, people of color, queer people.

813

Yeah.

814

That, oh, you're unobjective, you're

biased, you can't tell this story.

815

And I think that's, you know, that's what

we've always tried to push back against.

816

And also, we want to check

anything that reads like real bias.

817

Right.

818

And and, you know, in our editorial

values, it's we still, we always

819

give people the chance to comment.

820

You reached out to Planned Parenthood

multiple times, and I also reached

821

out to the labor consulting company,

and they were just like, we don't

822

have anybody here that can talk to the

media right now, and probably never.

823

Have a blessed day.

824

Did they say blessed day?

825

They did say have a blessed day.

826

Oh, fun.

827

I included that in the story just because

it was so like, I don't know, polite.

828

Short and polite.

829

Right.

830

Okay.

831

Yeah.

832

And you know, so we're always fair.

833

There's a difference between

being fair and being quote unquote

834

unbiased and being fair is giving

everybody a chance to comment.

835

We're always accurate.

836

We fact check everything.

837

Never going to misrepresent a quote I get.

838

Again, I think that's how we've built

trust with some of the conservatives

839

is that I am never going to try to

spin what you say in any kind of way.

840

I will print what you say later.

841

I will print what the progressive say.

842

There might be like.

843

Who else I choose to interview has to

do with the content of the story and,

844

you know, the other folks I interview or

give space to it might end up having more

845

We don't try to be balanced, I guess.

846

We try to be fair and accurate.

847

And we try to give our

community the information.

848

That they need and not gaslight

them about, you know, Oh, well, one

849

person says this and another person

says this, so really, who knows?

850

It's all neutral and up in the air.

851

What color is the sky?

852

Well, I think it's red, and

if I said that, I wouldn't be

853

quoted in one of our articles.

854

We're almost out of time.

855

I'm trying to think of how to

fill the next four minutes.

856

So

857

One thing that I have a question

on is We mentioned some of the

858

people involved Sarah Dixit

you mentioned Lillian Alvarede.

859

But there is another big figure in this

story, Paul Dillon, who is a Spokane

860

City Council member and he used to

be the director of public affairs?

861

Oh, VP.

862

Got it.

863

So what was his role in all of this?

864

Yeah, Paul's got an interesting story

here because his team was sort of,

865

you know, decimated like both while

and as he was leaving, but this all

866

happens like right around the time

when A, Paul's family's having a baby

867

and B, Paul is running for office.

868

So he goes on parental

leave to be with his family.

869

And then he also he told me that

at first leadership didn't have an

870

issue with him running for office.

871

While working there was like talks

about maybe what your hours are gonna

872

be since you know City Council is a

pretty demanding job But they'd never

873

expressed that he says that they had not

expressed that it was a huge issue Then

874

he goes on parental leave and when he

comes back, they're like, oh actually

875

like You should, you know, step back.

876

So that you can focus on your campaign.

877

It was sort of like interesting.

878

He characterized it as a demotion

and he was no longer the vp.

879

. What that did though is that meant

that he was no longer in leadership.

880

. So if you're familiar with the

structure of unions basically

881

management or like people who have

authority over other employees.

882

. Can't be in a union.

883

They have like niche unions that are

like, Oh, it's only the janitorial

884

staff or it's only the nurses.

885

The union that Planned Parenthood

is looking at would span all

886

employees who are not managers.

887

As soon as Paul got demoted to not a

manager, he started trying to help the

888

workplace unionize because he was no

longer handcuffed by that leadership role.

889

So on his way out the door, after he

got Demoted, he took the city council

890

job and then he, or he won his city

council election and then he ended up

891

getting a job at Pro Choice Washington

where Sarah Dixit also works doing

892

essentially the same thing and they

didn't really have a problem with him

893

also holding a position on council.

894

And on his way out the door, he connected

the staff with a union organizer and that

895

is That's how this story really all began.

896

Interesting.

897

Okay.

898

Alright.

899

That is our time for this week, Erin.

900

You want to play us out?

901

Do you have questions

about local government?

902

Wondering who to complain to about

an issue in your neighborhood?

903

Wondering which agency

governs certain things?

904

Or why something is happening,

or how much it costs?

905

Email us at freerange at kyrs.

906

org with your questions, and we'll

try and answer them next week.

907

If you had questions about anything

we talked about today, we will also

908

link to our stories and anything

we talked about on our KYRS page.

909

Free Range is a weekly news and

public affairs program presented by

910

Range Media and produced by Range

Media and KYRS Community Radio,

911

KYRS Medical Lake slash Spokane.

912

All right, catch you next week.

913

Bye.

914

No, wait, are we?

915

It'll be a recorded episode next week.

916

We are on vacation.

917

Okay, goodbye.