Post by skobie on Feb 4, 2013 18:35:38 GMT -5
Let's not sugar-coat the question (what to do about joining a Union or not). It's simple, IMO:
If you do not have a CBA in place, you are at the mercy of the government and their Wage Determination (which is kind of ironic, considering most people who are anti-union hate being at the whims of the government). You will NOT get a raise or any other benefits unless the Wage Determination says you do. It is updated yearly, but many times there are no or little change to it in most areas (counties). You can look it up for your county by Googling Service Contract Act Wage Determination. Make no mistake about it, you are not going to "negotiate" with your contractor to give you a raise, even if you are doing a heck of a job (as some have suggested). Not in this business.
If you are in a Right To Work State, it is currently your option not to join a pre-established Union. Supposedly you can still get the Union CBA benefits, which I've never agreed with, but apparently you can. Maybe that is why there may be legislation in the works to stop that. From what I'm understanding though, you may have to pay some sort of other fee which is not considered Union dues (though I don't know what else you would really call it, since it's going to the same people). I don't know if you're still protected job-wise, however, if/when a new contractor takes over. Maybe someone can clarify that for me as I don't work in a Right To Work state.
Clearly there are benefits from joining a Union. It does not have to be PATCO. There are others that will represent you. If you don't like who is representing you, then find another Union Local and switch. It can be done pretty smoothly actually, but most Union higher ups would not want you to know that quite frankly. Also, you will not get a great contract overnight. Some contractors are very difficult to deal with and there are people there that do not like Unions either. However, you will get more out of it (monetarily) than you are paying into it immediately. Trust me, the NLRB says so. If you are a Union site and you are getting less out of your CBA than the Wage Determination when you add everything up monetarily, then I would contact your local NLRB as part of the Department of Labor and they will open up a case and assign case worker to check out your claim. I do doubt that is the case at any sites though.
And would people quit talking about "the Union" like it is some kind of magical entity (particularly the anti-unionists). The people who make up the Union ARE the Union, not some guy you talk to over the phone or via email who might negotiate for your site. Give him an earful on what you want and if you don't get it after several tries, I would think of asking for less or going elsewhere. Everybody has an equal say in a Union, therefore we are all Brothers and Sisters.
skobie
If you do not have a CBA in place, you are at the mercy of the government and their Wage Determination (which is kind of ironic, considering most people who are anti-union hate being at the whims of the government). You will NOT get a raise or any other benefits unless the Wage Determination says you do. It is updated yearly, but many times there are no or little change to it in most areas (counties). You can look it up for your county by Googling Service Contract Act Wage Determination. Make no mistake about it, you are not going to "negotiate" with your contractor to give you a raise, even if you are doing a heck of a job (as some have suggested). Not in this business.
If you are in a Right To Work State, it is currently your option not to join a pre-established Union. Supposedly you can still get the Union CBA benefits, which I've never agreed with, but apparently you can. Maybe that is why there may be legislation in the works to stop that. From what I'm understanding though, you may have to pay some sort of other fee which is not considered Union dues (though I don't know what else you would really call it, since it's going to the same people). I don't know if you're still protected job-wise, however, if/when a new contractor takes over. Maybe someone can clarify that for me as I don't work in a Right To Work state.
Clearly there are benefits from joining a Union. It does not have to be PATCO. There are others that will represent you. If you don't like who is representing you, then find another Union Local and switch. It can be done pretty smoothly actually, but most Union higher ups would not want you to know that quite frankly. Also, you will not get a great contract overnight. Some contractors are very difficult to deal with and there are people there that do not like Unions either. However, you will get more out of it (monetarily) than you are paying into it immediately. Trust me, the NLRB says so. If you are a Union site and you are getting less out of your CBA than the Wage Determination when you add everything up monetarily, then I would contact your local NLRB as part of the Department of Labor and they will open up a case and assign case worker to check out your claim. I do doubt that is the case at any sites though.
And would people quit talking about "the Union" like it is some kind of magical entity (particularly the anti-unionists). The people who make up the Union ARE the Union, not some guy you talk to over the phone or via email who might negotiate for your site. Give him an earful on what you want and if you don't get it after several tries, I would think of asking for less or going elsewhere. Everybody has an equal say in a Union, therefore we are all Brothers and Sisters.
skobie