How to Get a Union at Work?
The only way to change things at your workplace is to come together with your co-workers and demand a change. The issues you face at work every day are important and should be addressed by your employer. However, often times they are not. Below are basic steps to starting an organizing campaign at your workplace in order to get union representation at your workplace. You have a legal right, under the National Labor Relations Act to form a union. Do not be scare. We are here to help.
Step 1: Talk about the issues with your co-workers. Be careful who you trust, but find a few co-workers who you can trust to find out who may share a common interest in bringing a union to your workplace. Talk to them about what changes you would like to see made and why you think you might need help from a union. having these discussions will help you decided whether there is enough interest at your workplace to start an organizing campaign.
Step 2: Contact US. Reach out to UFCW Local 888 organizers in order to move forward. Our Organizers will set up an initial meeting with you and some of your co-workers to figure out the issues most important to you and strategize on how to move forward.
Step 3: Build a Committee. You cannot do this alone. The best way to move forward is to build a strong organizing committee composed of co-workers who support the union and are willing to spread the word and educate your co-workers on the process and benefits of working with a union. Your organizing committee needs to be composed of key leaders from each department, shift, and/or worksite. Your committee should also reflect the diversity within your workplace to ensure that the effort reflects the interests of everyone on the job, not just the interests of a few.
Step 4: Identify the Issues. Create a list of issues and demands that can be addressed by having a union at your workplace to represent you. These issues should be important factors that affect a vast majority of your co-workers. Local 888 Organizers will help you develop the issues to drive the campaign home to many of your co-workers in order for them to be able to see the benefit of having a union at work.
Step 5: Sign Up. As the campaign moves forward and your committee grows, Local 888 Organizers will train committee members on how to reach out to their co-workers. One of the most pivotal aspects of the campaign will be when committee members ask co-workers to sign Authorization Cards to confirm their support. The goal of this is to secure overwhelming support in order to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a secret ballot election.
Step 6: Attend Meetings. Local 888 Organizers will make sure to provide a safe space for workers to come together and get more information on the union and talk about the issues that are most important to them. Part of this safe space is also used to educate workers on what your employer may try to do in order to change their minds.
Step 7: Win the Election. Once the petition has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the campaign will heat up as the employer will try to use different tactics to prevent the union from winning. Winning requires that the organizing committee and its supporters stand up to the employer’s campaign which that will focus on destroying the worker’s confidence and distracting them from the issues that are near and dear to their hearts. On election day, workers must vote YES for the union.
Step 8: Negotiate a strong union agreement! Organizing does not stop on election day. In fact, it continues as the most important part of the whole ordeal comes to fruition; a union agreement. Local 888 organizers will assist in building a negotiations committee who will attend negotiations with the union to fight for union agreement that addresses all the concerns and issues that affect the workers.
Under the NLRA, you have the right to organize a union to negotiate with your employer over your terms and conditions of employment. This includes your right to distribute union literature, wear union buttons t-shirts, solicit you co-workers to sign union authorization cards, and discuss the union with coworkers during an organizing campaign. It is illegal for your supervisors and managers to spy on you, coercively question you, threaten you or bribe you regarding your union activity or the union activities of your co-workers. You can not be fired, disciplined, demoted, or penalized in any way for engaging in these activities. However, your employer may try anyway. Stay strong and firm in your position! You deserve a union agreement and that is what you will get!