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As a worker, you have a right under federal
law to form a union, select representatives of your choice and bargain
collectively with your employer. This helps balance the power that an employer
has over his individual employees.
Belonging to a union gives you rights under law that you
do not have as an individual. Once you have formed a union, your employer must
bargain with you over your wages, hours and working conditions.
How Does The Union Work?
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A union is a democratic organization of a majority
of the employees in a facility. The basic idea of a union is that by
joining together with co-employees to form a union, workers have a greater
ability through their strength in numbers to improve conditions at the
worksite. In other words, "In unity there is strength."
The primary purpose of the union is to represent
workers in their employment and to negotiate a contract that improves
wages, benefits and working conditions and protects workers from unfair
treatment. The basis of the contract negotiated with the employer is
determined by the workers affected by the proposed contract. After
the contract is negotiated, it can only take effect if it is voted on and
ratified (approved) by the workers.
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The
Truth About Strikes |
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When Congress passed the National Labor
Relations Act, it guaranteed workers the right to join unions and the legal
right to strike. Without these rights, we'd be working for slave wages, as
they do in countries where there are no unions and no freedoms.
Strikes are very uncommon today. The
U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that only one work day out of a
thousand is lost due to a strike. In the latest year for which statistics
are available, only 5% of all union members were involved in a strike.
Ninety-eight (98%) percent of all labor agreements are
reached without a strike.
However, strikes are sometimes necessary.
When all else fails, employees will sometimes have to strike to win their
contract needs. This usually happens when employers are unreasonable and need to
be shown how valuable the contribution of workers really is. The right to strike
is a potent weapon in the right to gain a fair contract. The exercise of that
precious right is entirely up to the members affected by the contract. But
without a credible threat to strike, the employer holds all the power and
bargaining would be reduced to collective begging. Almost all contract
settlements are reached without workers resorting to strikes.
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