🚀 ELECTION UPDATE 🚀 Ballots will be mailed on Thursday, August 17th. The Regional Office must receive ballots before Friday, September 8th at 2 pm.
Read the full instructions here: Election Guidelines
FAQs
Q: What is a Union? What does it do?
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A: A union is when workers join together to form a united front to advance their common interests, improve their working conditions, and collectively bargain with their employer.
Examples of what workers can achieve together as a union include higher wages, health insurance, paid sick leave, better scheduling, protection against harassment, and safer working conditions to improve the quality of the job and workers’ well-being.
Q: Are there protections from retaliation by management if I join a union?
A: Yes! The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is a federal agency that protects a worker's right to organize and unionize. Workers are protected from retaliation for exercising their rights.
Union organizers help ensure that workers are protected by assisting them with their organizing campaign and providing knowledge of labor law.
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If your rights are violated, your union organizer will help you file a charge with the NLRB. If it's decided that your case has merit, a hearing will be scheduled and you will be provided with a lawyer.
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The first step to protecting yourself from your employer is learning union-busting tactics and knowing your rights.
Q: What are dues? What do they pay for?
A: First of all, no one pays a penny in dues until we all ratify a union contract! It is only once we have a union contract we are satisfied with and officially vote ‘yes’ for that dues kick in.
Once a contract is agreed upon by the union, every member will be asked to contribute dues to our union. This will help fund our union’s ongoing organizing and activities. Dues are key to keep the union running so we have an infrastructure to fight for a strong contract and ensure management adheres to the collective bargaining agreement.
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For any specific questions about dues, contact your AFSCME union representative.
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Q: Why make a union instead of a private petition or just confronting our employer?
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A: An employer is not obligated to consider any of the concerns or demands laid out in a private petition, meeting, or one-on-one. Even if the employer agrees to address the concerns or meet the demands, they can go back on their promises and change the agreements made.
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With a union, the employer must bargain with their employees in good faith. A union contract is legally binding and cannot be altered without agreements from both parties.
Q: What are Weingarten rights?
A: Unionized workers have additional protections during meetings with management that non-unionized workers don’t. These protections are called “Weingarten Rights.” These rights give unionized workers the option to have a union representative present in meetings they reasonably believe might lead to discipline. Learn more about Weingarten Rights!
Q: What is collective bargaining?
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A: Collective bargaining is the negotiation process between an employer and the union (representing the workers) that sets the wages and working conditions for the workplace. Successful negotiations result in a "collective bargaining agreement" or "labor contract."
An employer has no legal responsibility to bargain with an individual worker or group of non-unionized workers. However, when workers come together as a legally recognized union, the employer is legally bound to bargain “in good faith.”
If management says, "The union can't guarantee better benefits, higher pay," etc, this is true. The union cannot guarantee those things because they come about through the negotiation, or "collective bargaining", process. There is no guarantee that better benefits, higher pay, etc. will happen without a union either, but employers prefer that workers choose to negotiate as individuals, with less power and protections.
​We, as workers, make up the union and get to decide which benefits are worth fighting and negotiating for. Then, it is up to management to meet these demands and fairly negotiate. If the demands are not met, it is because management has refused them or the process of negotiations. We, as a union, will then respond accordingly through legally protected collective action - something we could not do alone.
Q: Do I get a say in my union?
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A: Yes, because the union is made up of us! It’s not some separate entity that comes in and takes control of our workplace - it’s simply coworkers like us joining together to bargain for fair workplace conditions. A union is effective because of the collective efforts of its members. Participation and collaboration are essential to ensure everyone gets a say in the union and a strong contract.
Q: My experience with the workplace is great. Why would I bother risking that for a union?
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A: Even if the workplace is working well for you now, that may one day change. A union ensures you will be protected, no matter what happens.
Q: Will we have to strike?
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A: If we do strike, it will be decided by us, the workers, and typically used as a last resort. In fact, if you read most articles talking about labor strikes happening in the U.S., they will say that"workers voted in favor of a strike" - it is never sprung upon workers, or done without their consent. A strike occurs when workers in a union vote to do so. Striking reflects management's refusal to bargain in good faith, to cooperate in creating a respectable workplace, or to implement changes and policies that were agreed upon in the contract.
Q: Will I be bound to the decisions of the union?
A: Yes. And you get a say in the decisions. Once we form a contract, there will be certain rules and policies applied to workers in the union. Without a union, we are bound to the decisions and rules made by management. With a union, management will be bound to the decisions and rules negotiated by us and our fellow coworkers during the collective bargaining process.
Q: I'm afraid I'll lose my job by supporting the union - is that a legitimate fear?
A: A worker cannot legally be fired for organizing to form a union. That being said, it is completely understandable to be worried about management retaliation. Management holds so much power over our livelihoods, and it is normal to feel intimidated when so much is at stake. Coworkers have been fired for small things before.
Management will face more scrutiny after unionization. Through the collective bargaining process, we can fight for job security through "just cause." Just cause means that the employer must have a reason to act in disciplining an employee and the reason must be just and fair.