Just some stuff about me.
Speaking as someone who just went through the process of forming a union.
Contacting the union rep is easy, give them a call and set up a meeting with some other coworkers who also want to form a union.
Have a couple of meetings over a month or two as you and your coworkers try to quietly recruit other coworkers to join your cause. Try to get these co workers to go to one of the meetings as well. (we had all of our meetings at a bar right next to my work, so more people were inclined to go)
once you feel you have enough people on your side (usually over half of your coworkers, but the more the better) Tell your union rep you’re ready to file a petition. Once the petition is filed the NLRB will contact the board of directors or owner of the company to negotiate a date for an election. Usually a month or two away.
This is where the hard part begins. During this waiting period for an election, the company will try every scare tactic in the book to sway people to vote no. The company will say the union will make your jobs harder (it won’t) they’ll say you’ll pay a fortune in union dues (my dues are $9 a paycheck) and they’ll threaten you with termination.
Companies don’t want you to know that it’s illegal to fire people for union activity. So if all of your coworkers continue doing their jobs without committing any actual fireable offenses then everyone should be fine.
Once the waiting period is over you’ll all vote. It requires a simple majority to form a union so 50% plus 1 vote will get you a union. If the vote fails, the union won’t form and you’ll be left to your companies mercy. If the union goes through the NLRB will contact the board of directors once again to strike up a bargaining order to start negotiating your union contract.
This is where ALOT of misconceptions about unions are formed. Most people think of a union as this ambiguous government agency that can make your job better. This is not true. The WORKERS are the union. The workers negotiate with the company to decide what’s in the union contract. If the workers negotiate a contract that’s worse than the current state of their job they have the right to re-negotiate the contract as many times as they want until they get a better one. Once a contract is agreed upon and signed you’ll officially have a union. You’ll have a union representative who will help you if the company isn’t honoring the contract or anything else you need help with.
The workers have the right to decertify their union exactly one year after a contract is signed. If the workers are happy with their contract then the union will stay in place for the rest of the allotted time that was specified in the contract. Once that times up the negotiation table is re-opened.
With all of that being said. More often than not a union will help the worker. However, like all organizations, they can be corrupt. Some union presidents unfortunately abuse their power and don’t actually help anyone but themselves.
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