• my platform

Hi! My name is Gabriela Contreras-Cisneros and I am proud to be running for Vice Chair.

Unit Council terms are three years, so it is critical to elect leadership with a clear vision for our unit, especially as bargaining intensifies and the stakes become greater.

My high-level goals for the next three years include:

• Year one: Create and improve our internal infrastructure that centers our members and sets us up for groundbreaking contract wins.
• Year two: Continue to iterate on our internal infrastructure, develop an outreach program to foster closer relationships with other labor and tech groups.
• Year three: Assess our role and impact in a wider context and prepare for leadership change. **

I did not come up with these goals alone or in a vacuum; they have been shaped by conversations with members, by my experience in our union as a member and as a steward, as well as by my experience in community organizing in San Francisco. They have also been inspired by the practices and theories of Eugene V. Debs, Mariame Kaba, Mia Mingus and Dean Spade.

A priority in infrastructure isn’t…

• Ignoring relationships
• Only about task delegation

A priority in infrastructure is…

• Creating the spaces and processes to connect one another, build trust and form relationships
• Giving members the avenues to chat, discuss, give feedback and make decisions
• Prioritizing sustainability. We need to build sustainable practices so folks can take breaks and others can lead. We need to be accessible by design
• An opportunity for stability. There is already enough uncertainty during bargaining; the Unit Council should provide predictability for our members

A democratic union

Bargaining sessions can be frustrating and confusing, and they can also be illuminating and empowering. We already know management will stall, deflect and try to gut our proposals, so we need to focus on what we can control. We have the right to be angry about their tactics, but we also have the right to be happy and proud that we dare to dream big. Yes, I am upset by their anti-unionism, but any anger is outweighed by the joy from our collective effort in making this a better workplace for all.

As we progress in bargaining, it becomes even more imperative that we are aligned as a unit. We will need to have the processes in place to handle disagreements as we face real trade-offs because we will not always be in agreement. We need to guarantee that we are not only listening to the loudest presence in the room.

Currently, the three named chairs are part of the Bargaining Committee and also need to fulfill their roles as the leaders of the Unit Council. The Unit Chair and Vice Chair are accountable for the functions of the Unit Council. The Unit Council is responsible for the inner workings of our union: the Contract Action Team, the Steward Network, working groups like Onboarding, Conflict Resolution and Comms. As Vice Chair, I will be a liaison between the Bargaining Committee and Unit Council with the objectives of supporting Article Committees and the Contract Action Team.

We also need to distribute ownership and responsibility so each area and function in our unit can be its best version. We are a unit of over 600 members and our internal structure needs to represent that. When the same three to four people are responsible for bargaining, Unit Council and the Steward Network, our union suffers due to fewer perspectives and limited capacity. Due to limited capacity from unit leadership, new initiatives require significant momentum from individual members, which often leads to burn out and disengagement from our union.

A misconception is that voting for new leadership means you think the current leadership is doing a bad job. This is not necessarily true. Current leadership has led our unit since organizing efforts began about three years ago. We can appreciate all that they have done while also recognizing that new leadership can bring fresh energy, new ideas and their own experience as organizers and members. I am excited to run for Vice Chair so we all have the opportunity to experience a democratic union united by a common vision.

The first year

Create and improve our internal infrastructure that centers our members and sets us up for groundbreaking contract wins.

I am thrilled that our proposals are ambitious and reflect an ideal workplace. My top priority is to ensure that our infrastructure sets us up for a successful contract campaign. As we get further into bargaining and need to compromise, it will be even more important to have the processes in place as we bargain for a contract that affects our working conditions.

Some specific initiatives I’d like to kick off:

• Draft a roadmap with the Bargaining Committee to give members greater insight into our contract campaign
• Standardize processes to help Article Committee leads recruit and onboard, develop proposals and get feedback from members
• Work with the Inclusion Chair, Policy Chair and caucuses to connect relevant affinity groups to proposal drafts that may impact them disproportionately
• Organize recurring unit meetings that are hosted by rotating Article Committees to workshop proposals, give feedback or answer any questions
• During bargaining, hold Unit Council-led town halls on a quarterly basis for roadmap check-ins and discuss any member-led issues
• Leverage the steward network to support team or mission-based community building

Year two

Continue to iterate on our internal infrastructure, develop an outreach program to foster closer relationships with other labor and tech groups.

Specific initiatives:

• Kick off an Outreach Working Group and Education Working Group. The Outreach WG will be tasked with fostering relationships with sibling units, the Local and other labor and tech groups. The Education WG will be responsible for internal education on unionism, specifics to our union and lead skill-sharing workshops so members can develop new skills
• The Outreach WG and Education WG can partner to develop teach-ins from our own learnings to help other workplaces organize
• The Education WG and Onboarding WG can coordinate to create a series of onboarding sessions and resources to guide members in their own journey in our union
• Standardize working group structures so each working group has at least one point person. Point people will be encouraged to have six-month terms
• Pod leaders within our steward network will have a year-long terms and can be elected to represent their function or mission
• Caucuses will continue to be self-determined and can decide on their own internal structure

Year three

Assess our role and impact in a wider context and prepare for leadership change.

By the third year, we will have won a contract that for many of us will be life changing. Whether it’s better compensation to support our communities, more PTO to finish writing that book or a work schedule that lets us prioritize our health and joy, we will have greater bandwidth to reflect on the kind of impact we’d like to have as global citizens, whether that’s focusing on supporting local policy that fights climate change or tackles the current housing crisis. This is the year we will be gearing up for the next Unit Council, too.

More about me

I am a software engineer in Publishing and I live in San Francisco with my dog, Ivan. I have been a part of the Times for a little over two years. Prior to the Times, I worked at a small start-up in enterprise communication.

Before being a software engineer, I was a public school teacher. I’m a proud former member of the United Educators of San Francisco, where I learned first hand about and participated in work-to-rule, sick outs and community-focused organizing, as well as anti-union tactics like third-partying.

I also have experience with community organizing and mutual aid in San Francisco. I was the Point Person for a grassroot campaign’s Education Working Group where I was accountable for developing the structure and processes for external teach-ins, comms, skill-sharing workshops and internal education and training where inclusion and accessibility were prioritized and embedded.

I have also volunteered with Tech Workers Coalition - Bay Area by volunteering for gig worker rights and organizing meet-ups. I am also an active member of Techqueria, a Latinx in tech organization.

Back in college, I took labor history classes where I learned about labor organizing in American and international contexts. My motivation for taking these classes was my own awareness of the intersections of labor, class, gender and race and ethnicity. You can learn more about me in this Times Open piece.

A few months after joining the Times, I joined the organizing committee and helped coordinate DEI week before our certification vote. After we won our certification vote, I ran our first Unit Council election, which required significant coordination with other unit members, our NewsGuild representative and the Local Election Committee. During the first few months as a recognized unit, I focused on contributing to establishing processes around our comms and community safety. I also helped create the Black and Latinx Caucus.