In most cases, a strong, well-organized local will not have to strike. Members always make the decision whether or not they should strike. It is rare when AFSCME members have found it necessary to strike to achieve dignity on the job. The decision to strike is made locally by you and your fellow workers. A strike is just one tactic available to workers to pressure their employer, and is a tactic of last resort. Does having a union mean there will be strikes? Yet the right to collectively bargain is essential so that working men and women have the strength to improve their living standards, provide for their families and build a strong middle class. The United States has long lagged behind other industrialized nations in collective bargaining coverage for public- and private-sector workers. What is collective bargaining and how does it work?Ĭollective bargaining is the process of negotiation between employees and their employer over wages, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights.Ī committee of our co-workers - chosen by us - sits down and hammers out an agreement known as a "union contract" on every issue of concern to our bargaining unit. The union bargaining committee represents the united strength of all union members. The majority of members must then vote to approve or "ratify" a tentative agreement reached at the bargaining table before it can become adopted as a contract.Īfter the rights of public employees to collectively bargain for a middle-class life came under attack in 2010, working people in all kinds of jobs as well as students, community supporters, faith leaders and others united to defend this basic right. We make our families, our communities, and our country stronger. That’s why helping more workers join unions and bargain for a better life is so important.Īs a union, we work together to build political support for the vital services we provide. We have to act now to stop the attacks on our rights and our ability to earn a decent living. No one who works for the public, no one who cares about supporting a family, no one who cares about building a strong middle class should let that happen. They want to privatize our jobs, strip us of our rights, and dismantle the services we provide to make our communities stronger and safer. Together, we fight for prosperity and opportunity for all working families. They give our jobs away to private contractors who pay lower wages.īut public service workers are the backbone of the American middle class. They slash our budgets and take our pensions. They say we earn too much, our benefits our too rich, and we have too much political power. Some politicians and pundits like to blame public service workers for America’s problems. Ninety-five percent of union members have health insurance and a pension plan available - versus approximately 68 percent (health insurance) and 63 percent (pension) of those not in a union. Union workers are more likely than their non-union counterparts to have access to health care and pension benefits. And Latino workers with the union advantage make 47.1 percent more than those not represented by a union. Women and African Americans represented by unions earn between 29.7 and 33.1 percent more than their non-union counterparts. The difference is even greater for women and people of color. Workers who are union members earn 26.2 percent more than non-union workers. Organized labor is fighting to win the same union protections for these workers. Still, millions of workers, such as farm laborers, domestic workers and managers are not covered by the NLRA. Unions are democratic organizations and its leaders are elected by the membership. Most American workers have the right to form and join unions under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which encourages union formation. Unions help to ensure that employers act fairly.īy forming unions, employees can work collectively to improve working conditions and job safety, to resolve their grievances and to increase professionalism all around.Unions may also use their power to improve labor conditions, protect the middle class, shrink wealth gaps to balance the economy, assure equal access to public services and pursue other goals through legislative action. Through their union, workers have the ability to negotiate from a position of strength with employers over wages, benefits, hours and working conditions. A union is an organization formed by workers who band together to have a voice in their workplace.