2008

Uncategorized

>What’s Wrong with this Message?

Dec 11, 2008

>Commercials like this one misinform people about the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s time to set the record straight!

But first, check it out and see if you can catch the faulty reasoning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afjp4Cx-3W0

These commercials lead most people to think that unions want to replace the secret ballot election with a not secret ballot election. However, unions and workers agree that “democracy is something that should never be sacrificed.”

Bear with me.

Currently, the standard way to form a union involves two major steps.

1. Majority card sign-up: Before any election takes place, a majority of workers must sign cards saying that they want an election.
2. Elections: Workers vote (yes, with a secret ballot) on whether they want a union.

Sounds fair, right? The problem though, is that during the time between Steps 1 and 2, the employers wage their anti-union war. They might force workers to watch movies that lie about the union, tell people how to vote in the election, or even fire pro-union workers. This time period can last for months or even years, so you can imagine that when the election rolls around, many of the people who signed the cards in the first place might have changed their minds. And really, if the money you need to survive is being given to you by a person (your boss) who’s telling you how to vote, is this actually democracy?

So the solution proposed by Employee Free Choice Act is to allow workers to vote for the union using the same process that is already used in Step #1. If workers want a union, they sign a card. If they don’t want a union, they don’t sign a card. Democracy is still in place here, because a majority of workers need to sign cards for the union to win. This process is the same as the one we have always used; it just gets rid of the opportunity for employers to intimidate their workers.

But if this is the same process that is already in place, why are the anti-union people presenting it as something new and scary? Because without the employer intimidation process it would easier for workers to join unions, and harder for employers to hold on to all the power! Remember, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott admitted, “We like driving the car and we’re not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us.”

UFCW Stewards

UFCW Members Keep Momentum Alive

Dec 08, 2008

Manuel Salazar took a week off his job at a meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., packed his bags, and departed to Minneapolis. He had a clear objective in his mind: to be part of history and bring change to working families by volunteering to get out the union vote for Obama.
“I knew Barack Obama was the right person for the job,” said Salazar, who has been a Local 304A member for over nine years. “My local helped me to get time off from my job to go to Minneapolis and get out the vote for Barack Obama.”
Thousands of UFCWmembers across the nation volunteered to get out the vote for Barack Obama because they knew what was at stake in this election.
“There were many of us in Minneapolis. We helped with everything we could,” said Salazar. “I went canvassing and made phone calls to fellow UFCW members.”
The efforts made by volunteers like Salazar were not in vain. Millions of working families in America woke up on November 5 to see a dream fulfilled and the prospect of a better future.
After eight years of failed policies from an administration that supported corporations and left middle class families behind, finally the time has come to fight back for better wages, quality and affordable health care, and securing better benefits.

 

But electing Barack Obama is just the first step to strengthen the middle class, said Dan Nichols, a steward from Local 304A.
“As stewards we have to encourage workers to keep fighting for policies that would raise their standards of living,” said Nichols. “Working families need to unite and contact legislators in Congress and push for the issues that matter most to workers.”

 

Nichols said that workers should stand together behind the Employee Free Choice Act, to make sure the next Congress approves this important legislation that would restore the American Dream.
“This bill, if it’s approved by Congress, will help a lot of working families and will be great for the middle class,” Nichols said. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people who would like to join a union, but are afraid of their supervisors.”

 

The Employee Free Choice Act will put more workers on the union side of the bargaining table, which will ultimately expand and strengthen the middle
class by protecting jobs, raising wages, and improving benefits.
As a steward, Nichols has actively encouraged his coworkers to sign a pledge card in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

 

Thanks to hard work and efforts of stewards like Nichols, more than 250,000 UFCW members have signed the petition urging elected leaders to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. There is still more to be done to get this important piece of legislation passed.
All stewards can mobilize members around the Employee Free Choice Act by telling them to call, write or e-mail their elected representatives and urging them to strengthen the middle class by passing this bill.

 

Manuel Salazar believes that workers should hold Congressional leaders accountable to reform health care and to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.
“All workers have to continue fighting for what is best for their families. Workers all around the nation need to mobilize to get the Employee Free Choice Act passed and to reform health care,” Salazar said.

Uncategorized

>What Exactly is EFCA?

Dec 07, 2008

>

There’s a lot of talk about the Employee Free Choice Act these days. If you’ve heard about it in the news, you’ve probably also heard the words “secret ballot,” “majority sign-up,” or “card check.” These words are an important part of what this legislation hopes to do for workers. But there are other exciting parts of the Act as well. Here we lay out the basic idea of the Act so you can decide for yourself what you think about it.

1) The first major component of EFCA allows unions to form when the majority of workers sign cards in support of the union.

Right now unions generally start with this card signing process, but then they have an election. The main problem with this election is that it often occurs months or even years after the initial card sign-up. During this time the employers do all they can to frighten workers away from voting for the union, threatening to fire workers, or lying to them about what it would actually be like to be a union member.

2) EFCA makes it easier to resolve contract disputes between the workers and their employer.

Currently, if a company doesn’t like the demands that workers are making during contract negotiations, they might just refuse to come to any agreement. In this case, even if workers have voted overwhelmingly for a union, they might have to wait for years until they actually get any contract at all. With EFCA, there would be a fair way to resolve contract disputes.

3) EFCA increases penalties against employers who take illegal union-busting measures against workers.

It may surprise you to learn that many employers commit illegal actions or “Unfair Labor Practices” on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the current penalties for these acts are so minor, that they are basically just a slap on the wrist. For example, employers will continue to take the risk of having to pay a small fee if it means they can invent reasons to keep their employees from unionizing.