It can be, and this is probably the biggest reason union members fail to remain engaged. There are still eligibility … That will take cooperation from other public sector unions, which haven't come around to our way of thinking. This is usually because they represent people in specialist jobs. What our readers read, shared, commented on, printed and more. Ten good reasons to join Unite. Just as we advocate for improvements to be made by our national and provincial governments, we should advocate for improvements to be made within our labour unions -- especially so that they can have a more effective, positive role in those larger political structures. Find a union to join. As a result, trade unions help working people to win a better deal at work. As should be obvious by now, the number one reason employees join a union is because they feel their employer is treating them "unfairly." Some unions are worse than others, and it all depends on the personalities involved. We saw it as incompatible with our role as teachers to benefit from the sale of armaments. Join a strong union and make your voice heard. But these objections are nevertheless worth examining because, if there is some truth to them, it might lead us to solutions. But, and that’s a huge but, it’s not always that black and white. These reasons may take the form of a need for a social outlet, Peer pressure, forced unionization, dissatisfaction with the management, opportunity for leadership etc. By taking the time to understand why employees join unions, anti-union employers can work toward creating work environments that eliminate the need for unionization. On average, union members get higher pay than non-members. Why Employee Union is Necessary – Why Employee Join Union There are a number of reasons that can make an employee to join a union & these reasons change with the passage of time. Closed shops, where workers must join a union before being hired, are no longer legal, states the U.S. Small Business Administration. When subscribing to a newsletter edition you'll also get early notice on Tyee events, news, promotions, partner messages and special initiatives. When unions demand higher wages, employers with limited funds may have to cut staff to pay higher wages. TOP FIVE REASONS WHY PEOPLE JOIN A UNION. Union membership dues start at approximately $200 a year, and many unions charge more, according to Larry Keller of Bankrate.com. Given those realities, adjuncts have to decide the question of whether to join a union on an individual -- case by case, institution by institution -- basis. Collective action cannot help me in any way. They can also discuss their problem with’ the trade union leaders. Sometimes new guards become old guards, old guards become really old guards, even newer guards get started, and so on. But one can always ration one's involvement by not getting involved in too many things at once, and many activists have managed to balance their lives this way. Membership types. Although managers may not be prohibited from joining trade unions, there are some preventative measures an employer can take to protect its rights should a … The only reason I'm in a union position is because of politics that had nothing to do with sense. So yes, standing up in your union could make you a target -- but not necessarily. First, of course, union members tend to enjoy higher wages and better benefits than the unorganized. December 22, 2020 Early coronavirus vaccine recipient feels optimistic about what lies ahead. In many cases union volunteers are respected by management, and I see no systemic evidence that union involvement hinders one's chances for advancement. Related Posts. One of the most important decisions you will ever make as an actor is whether or not to join the SAG-AFTRA Union. If we agree to keep a lot of the EU rulebook and join a so-called "customs union" with the EU, they will back the prime minister in the Commons. Strikes build awareness of both the issues and the union, and members start getting more deeply involved -- many for the first time. Pensions, medical insurance, paid vacation, holidays, personal holidays, sick pay, overtime premiums, shift differential, etc, are generally not only better in a union shop, many of these goodies don’t even exist without a union contract. Which is a pretty good record, if you think about it. Nevertheless, while this may at times be disheartening, it is no reason to stay out of the fray. This is because workers join together to negotiate pay and conditions rather than leaving them up to managers. Read More December 21, 2020 Saunders blasts COVID relief package as ‘a slap in the face’ to … 5 reasons why you should join a trade union: Trade unions give power to working people by enabling employees to speak with one voice to their employer. This is where the importance … Not all adjuncts are the same. A union means an end to … If you were eligible to join a credit union based on your job, for example, you can keep your membership even if you leave that job. That can mean lots of different things, but nowhere is it more evident than when an employer takes inconsistent disciplinary action. Some unions may have restrictions on who can join. Whether you have $5 or $50,000 in your account, you have the same say as any other member in determining the direction of your credit union. That’s $9,600 more a year. The wages and benefits for my position are determined by the market, not by collective action. Union rules typically guarantee job security based on seniority, so a productive newer worker can be laid off while a less-productive worker with seniority stays. •   Unions are ineffective and impossible to change. How to Join A Union & Why Join - Member Services. 6 reasons for joining a union People who aren't in a union or don't know anyone in a trade or labor union often unsure what labor unions do and why someone would join. As an example, my union local has what you might call an old guard, focused largely on the past, and a new guard who formed because they got tired of new ideas being blocked. Unions offer workers stability and job security. Monthly dues for the chapter generally are equivalent to your pay for two-and-one-half hours of work. So why do new activists fade away? People who are unionized enjoy greater job satisfaction because unions allow employees to negotiate the rules and policies of the workplace with the employer. If you give your employees the same benefits and advantages as unions, your workers won't have to pay dues to a union and your workplace can remain union-free. Join Unite and enjoy a whole range of benefits such as financial advice, funeral care and monetary rewards. More than 84 percent of union workers have jobs that provide health insurance benefits, but only 64 percent of nonunion workers do. You'll also lose autonomy by joining, and you may suffer additional disadvantages. On the other hand, those who are members of a union feel that they gain respect in the eyes of their fellow workers. If there is a deal, they say, that they might support. Do you need to be in the "in crowd?" But they won't go away if we don't get involved. In any event, yes, there can be "in-groups" in unions, and most unions seem to have them. Let's take a look: Is union work time-consuming? Myo Thant, a front-line worker in Seattle and a member of Council 28, is one of the first AFSCME members to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Why Join. We’ve got a global crisis or two — or three — on our hands. 1. Stability. Perhaps that's true on some level. For example, membership in the Teamsters Local 853 costs between $17 and $85 per month as of 2015. Why would someone not join a union? This might sound like an easy sell, but it wasn't: there was opposition within the BCTF to such considerations. The "one step back" here is that we still haven't divested weapons stocks from our pension. Member Benefits. •   Being labelled an "activist" can hinder your career. What’s even more mind blowing is the amount of wrong … •   To influence decisions, you need to be with the "in crowd." As an example, I once brought forward a motion for our local to make a public statement in support of WikiLeaks. Measures have been enacted to ensure the integrity of personal information and to protect it from misuse, loss or alteration. Following from this last point, I will admit that during my years as a union activist I often thought I was wasting my time: that as an "agent of change," I might have done better to join the Republican Tea Party to convert them to the ideology of Karl Marx. The financial costs of union membership include dues and, in many cases, fees for joining. Now at first glance, this seems like the most viable option for any actor with experience and credits. If you think your employer has dismissed you or made you redundant for a reason connected to your trade union membership or your decision not to join a trade union, you may be entitled to make a complaint of unfair dismissal to an industrial tribunal. As a result, unionized workers often experience a less cooperative environment with employers than nonunion workers, reports the Bankrate.com article. Union members are likely to have a more secure job with better maternity, paternity, sickness and pension benefits. Your employer has the right to hire other workers during the strike, but you have no guarantee of being called back immediately afterward or of receiving back pay. Although many union politicos are exemplary in their respect for fair play, I can confirm that negative campaigns and vicious tactical maneuvers are just as common in unions as they are in the larger political sphere. Considering the four factors mentioned above that need to be considered when managers join a union, it is clear that there might be a conflict of interest when a manager joins a trade union, and even more so when the manager becomes a shop steward. Why unionize?While workers in Ontario have minimum rights under the Employment Standards Act (ESA), a union collective agreement builds on those rights, adds additional rights and, just as important, gives you a means to enforce them. Unless you're required to join, you gain little advantage by doing so. If your state doesn't have right-to-work laws, you can be required to pay a portion of the union dues even if you don't join the union, according to legal website NOLO. Yes, but would like to learn more about the vaccine(s) first. That’s why, if you intend to be a blue-collar worker rather than a white-collar careerist, it’s a smart move to consider becoming a union member. Are unions ineffective and impossible to change? If you have concerns related to your privacy please contact us at info@thetyee.ca. But after years of campaigning (yes, it did take years -- I estimate five years of the most organized phase of our campaign) and fine-tuning our strategy, we succeeded in changing the culture, to such an extent that "ethical investing" is now viewed as common sense among BCTF activists. In my workplace, I am aware of some in management who negatively target shop stewards, but that seems to be the exception. Nonetheless, you must pay to belong to a union. If there’s a union at work, you can ask the trade union representative (‘rep’) about joining. Needless to say, the motion was defeated, and one of the main arguments put forward was that because unions are secretive and should remain so, we should respect government secrecy! 3. That's because unions have smaller overall populations, and are therefore easier to be influenced by a small group of activists. 6. But, more than students, it is those young people that are currently in full or part-time employment that are the most vulnerable to exploitation under the current government without the help of trade unions. But we can make incremental improvements, if not to the outside world, then certainly to the internal structures of our unions. Here are five common objections I’ve heard union members raise when explaining why they don’t stay involved: • Union involvement is time-consuming. Each person's decision about this should be based on their unique circumstances. If he is not satisfied with the wage and other conditions of employment, he can leave the job. The individual employee possesses very little bargaining power as compared to that of his employer. You have a legal right to join a union. Many hands make light work, and when we invite rational actors to our union table, they can help change the culture. The chapter also charges an initiation fee ranging from $75 to $600, depending on your wage level. One member, one vote. Possibilities: 1. In the labour movement, employer attacks, the end of contract terms, and strikes are what we call "capacity building" events. E-mail addresses are only used for the purposes of Tyee-related correspondence or comment moderation. All information submitted to The Tyee is only available to employees or sub-contractors who are bound by agreement with The Tyee to keep the information private. Patrick Parkes blogs at politicalsensei.wordpress.com. Tyee Poll: Will You Get Immunized Once the COVID-19 Vaccine Is Made Available to You? Here are seven practical reasons why. Perhaps it can taken from this that young people do not join unions because they feel as if they will not do anything to help them. In fact, you can be subject to a fine or other union discipline if you choose to work. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.: What If I Want to Work During a Strike? In some cases, what the union bargains for collectively may not be in your best interest. This "wage premium" that accrues to an otherwise average worker who belongs to a union is estimated by a recent study to amount to a staggering $551,000 over a lifetime. For example, supervisors may treat unionized workers more as underlings and less as partners, and workers may feel that their employers trust them less. Union rules sometimes pit workers against each other, according to Fox News. As a union activist, could you be the target of internal political attacks? Why Do Workers Join Trade Unions? Find his previous Tyee articles here. When on strike, a union rolls out its command structures, and all hands must be on deck, so to speak. Trade unions use their collective muscle to bargain for better salaries, pensions, holidays, health insurance, sick pay, overtime and more. That's bad for you if you're new to the business. The answer depends on the health of one's union. They believe the union will not or cannot represent their beliefs or interests. And this point was made without even a hint of irony. In the UK, students can join the National Union of Students, or NUS, which works to represent student issues at a national level. If for some reason you can't join a union but want to support your fellow working Americans and fight for good jobs and a just economy, learn how to join Working America. 1. In fact, some of the skills you gain through union involvement may be transferable to the workplace, and smart managers understand this. Where employees feel that they have been subjected to discipline which they did not deserve, or did not expect, or that another employee got a … Barring catastrophic … In 2015, for example, union members earned about $200 a week more than those who don’t belong to a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The important forces that make the employees join a union are as follows: 1. As a union member, you're not free to decide for yourself whether or not you want to strike. However, you save the portion that goes for political costs by not joining. To borrow the slogan of talk show host Thom Hartmann: "Tag, you're it.". As an example of such progress, in recent years a determined group of BCTF activists (of which I am part) advocated successfully to build support, within our union, for divestment of weapons stocks from our pension. So why not reconsider an idea that probably made an awful lot of sense to your grandparents but has taken a bit of a battering in recent decades: joining a union. It’s illegal for an employer to disadvantage you because you are a union member. Thanks to labor unions, wages have improved, the workweek is shorter and the workplace is safer. So despite the barriers, there really is every reason to get involved in your union -- and you should. Unite offers a wide range of services to members, from representation in the workplace and free legal advice, to pensions advice and training courses. In states without right-to-work laws, however, unions can require employees to join within a specified time after being hired. For instance you worked at a company with a boss who gives you a wage that is lower than the expected minimum wage, a union leader thus forms a union of people within the company who share the same sentiments and then at the same time, acts as the voice who delivers the complaint to the big boss. If you are not, here is an example of how a union works. A union die-hard might say all of the above objections are merely excuses, based on misinformation. … They are also likely to get better sickness and pension benefits, more paid holiday and more control over things like shifts and working hours. The chapter also charges an initiation fee ranging from $75 to $600, depending … By this I mean that many unions are deeply resistant to change, and in some cases even reactionary. The number of articles we read on this matter is staggering. •   Political work can make one a target of personal attacks. Here are 9 reasons why everyone needs to join a union NOW: Union members earn more than non-union members Union members have consistently earned more than non-union members. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.: Right to Work States, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.: Right to Work Frequently Asked Questions, National Labor Relations Board: 1947 Taft-Harley Substantive Provisions. The most common reason why people want a union is because there is something that is unfair about their workplace. Sadly, where unions should be providing a good example and an antidote to the irrationality and arbitrary power we find in the larger political system, sometimes they are merely a microcosm of that system. However, employers sometimes complain that unions are harmful to business and to the economy. However, when the strike (or other critical event) is over, newly engaged members often drift away, and the union moves back to its steady state of die-hards-only. At the apex of my union involvement (as table officer for a BC Teachers' Federation local, and editor of a professional journal) I attended plenty of late-night meetings, and often worked on weekends and holidays. Although union members typically enjoy higher wages, membership in a union has both monetary and nonmonetary costs. Bankrate: The Pros and Cons of Union Jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics News Release: Union Members -- 2014, Fox News: Why Unions Are Harmful to Workers, Teamsters Local 853: Frequently Asked Questions, Forbes: 'Right-to-Work' Laws Explained, Debunked and Demystified, U.S. Small Business Administration: Unions -- Right-to-Work States vs. Union members also … Safety. Whether or not they join the union or pay fees, by law nonmembers receive nearly all of the same contract benefits as union members, states Rick Ungar in a November 2012 Forbes article. Here are five common objections I've heard union members raise when explaining why they don't stay involved: •   Union involvement is time-consuming. To be sure, a small union local can't change the world -- so get over it. For example, membership in the Teamsters Local 853 costs between $17 and $85 per month as of 2015. It’s proven that workers who are trade union members earn more than non-unionized workers. In short, yes. Credit unions are for everyone – most people do not realize that they qualify for membership. Union membership dues start at approximately $200 a year, and many unions charge more, according to Larry Keller of Bankrate.com. This is called a union shop. The thing to emphasize here is that we probably can have some influence in improving our unions, despite the many barriers we face. Workers have jobs that provide health insurance benefits, but it was n't: there was opposition within the to! Hostile to new people not, here is an example, I once brought a... 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